The Illusive Emperor
by Nicolai Alvin Hubert
Summary: On the surface, the war is lost; humanity has been conquered by the Hierarchy. But conquered is not beaten, and the Britannian royal family are very, very good at holding grudges. Between the Shepard siblings and the Illusive Man, only one thing is certain. There will be blood.
1. Timeline I

**55 BCE: **

Julius Caesar attempts to invade Britain, but is met with strong resistance from the local tribes, who elect a super-leader: the Celtic King Eowyn, who summarily becomes the first member of the Britannian Imperial Family.

**1603 CE: **

Henry IX, the son of Elizabeth I, ascends to the throne after the death of his mother, starting the Golden Age of the Tudor Dynasty.

**1776 CE: **

American Colonies declare independence from the British Empire

**1778 CE: **

The Duke of Britannia bribes Benjamin Franklin with promises of titles and territories in the colonies. Franklin had been charged with appealing to Louis XVI for assistance in the American colonies' war for independence. Thereafter, he is given the title of Earl.

**1781 CE: **

The Continental Army suffers a decisive defeat during the Siege of Yorktown, marking the end of the American movement for independence.

**1789 CE: **

The western world enters the Age of Revolution, with numerous national revolutions taking place starting with France, except in the British Isles, under the rule of King Henry X, who continues to hold an absolute monarchy. This leads to the formation of the European Union.

**1804 CE: **

Napoleon Bonaparte rises to power in the European Union.

**1805 CE: **

European Union Navy engages the British Navy in a decisive victory at Trafalgar.

**1806 CE: **

EU forces invade Great Britain and occupies London.

**1807 CE: **

Queen Elizabeth III retreats to Edinburgh, where a revolutionary militia arrests her and forces her to abdicate, ending the monarchy. This becomes known as _The Humiliation of Edinburgh_. However, Sir Ricardo von Britannia, Duke of Britannia, and his friend and subordinate, Sir Richard Hector, Knight of One, bring Elizabeth III and her followers to the New World and establish a capital on the east coast of North America. The British Isles fall under the control of the EU and a new government is established.

**1812 CE: **

Elizabeth III nominates her lover, Sir Ricardo von Britannia, as her successor upon her death. She ends her reign for being "the Queen who loved throughout her stormy life". The Holy Britannian Empire is established with Ricardo von Britannia becoming the first Emperor of the new regime.

**1945 CE: **

The Quintipartite War between Holy Britannian Empire, European Union, Russian Federation, African Hegemony, and Chinese Federation begins with the invasion of Japan as part of Operation Swiftsure. Japan lasts only a month before surrendering, providing a buffer for Britannia to allow it full control of the Pacific. The war would wage for 18 years and claim nearly a quarter of the world's population with no discernible victor outside of the African Hegemony's destruction.

**1960 CE: **

Prince Arthur zi Britannia successfully launches a coup d'état of the Holy Britannian Empire, overthrowing Emperor Percival von Britannia and ending the von Britannia line. Using a mixture of swift ruthless strikes and realpolitik changes, his actions change the worldwide balance of power.

**1963 CE: **

The Quintipartite War officially ends with the Requiem Accords signed by the remaining four powers. As a result of the accord, the United Nations are founded.

**1970 CE: **

Lionel 1 lands on Luna. Alexander Armstrong becomes the first human to walk on Luna and the first human to walk on an astronomical object other than Earth.

**2034 CE: **

Armstrong Base is formally founded as the first human settlement on Luna, it is the first of six bases established by the various major nations over the next three years.

**2052 CE: **

Eldrin las Britannia rebels against the throne and is exiled along with his followers to Alpha Centauri.

**2077 CE: **

Liara T'Soni is born.

**2099 CE: **

The Holy Britannian Empire Space Agency establishes Bedegraine City in Eos Chasma and becomes the first permanent human settlement on Mars.

**2132 CE: **

The Eldfell-Ashford Energy Corporation demonstrates helium-3 fuel extraction from the atmosphere of Saturn.

**2134 CE:**

Steven Hackett is born.

**2137 CE:**

David Anderson is born

**2140 CE: **

Construction of Galerkin Station (Jump Zero) begins beyond the orbit of Pluto.

**2143 CE: **

Trace amounts of Element Zero are discovered on Mars.

**2144 CE:**

February 20th: Schneizel el Britannia is born

**2145 CE:**

January 13th: Cornelia li Britannia is born

**2146 CE: **

Thane Krios is born

Clovis la Britannia is born

**2148 CE: Humanity Discovers Mass Effect Physics**

Humanity discovers a small cache of highly advanced Prothean technology hidden deep beneath the surface of Mars on the south polar region of Promethei Planum. Building on the remnants of the long extinct race, human quickly explore the science of mass effect fields, leading to the development of faster than light travel and begin detailed exploration of the Sol System.

**2149 CE: **

Following information from the translated data cache on Mars, humans discover that Charon, Pluto's moon, is actually a massive piece of dormant Prothean technology, a mass relay, encased in ice. Once activated, Johnathan Grissom leads the first team of explorers through the relay, which instantaneously transports them to another relay in Arcturus, 36 light-years away. The explorers discover that the mass relays are part of a vast network, making travel across the galaxy possible.

The United Nations is dissolved with the signing of the Systems Alliance Confederation Charter spearheaded by the four major nations, and signed by every country on Earth. The Alliance soon becomes the military and exploratory spearhead of humanity.

With the discovery of the Mass Relay at Charon and the news that humanity may not be alone, the Holy Britannian Empire initiates Project Safehold, the search for a planet that may be outside of the Mass Effect relay system to hide humanity in the event of an extinction-level of event. No other nation is informed of this measure.

**2150 CE:**

Miranda Lawson is born

The Systems Alliance begins the first surveys for colonization prospects outside of the Sol System. One of these surveys discover the planet Terra Nova.

**2151 CE:**

To defend its expanding territory, humanity begins constructing a massive military fleet and space station at Arcturus, the nexus of several key mass relays, even though they have yet to encounter another intelligent spacefaring race.

An accident at the Singapore International Spaceport exposes hundreds of humans to dust-form Element Zero. Roughly 30% of the children born in Singapore after Element Zero exposure suffer from cancerous growths.

**2152 CE:**

The Toromo Agency, a major consortium based on Earth, begins settlement of humanity's first extra-solar colony world, the planet Demeter. Later that year, additional colonies are founded on Eden Prime and Terra Nova.

Thane Krios is submitted for training as an assassin under the Hanar.

June 14th: John Shepard is born.

**2154 CE: **

A containment failure at the newly constructed Londinium Station claims the lives of thirty-eight thousand Britannians.

Project Safehold is shut down. All resources, personnel, and funding attached to the project mysteriously disappears.

March 29th: Kallen Kōzuki is born

April 11th: Jane Shepherd is born.

July 10th: Suzaku Kururugi is born

December 5th: Lelouch vi Britannia is born.

**2155 CE:**

Saren Arterius is promoted to active service in the Turian military at the age of 16.

The Systems Alliance occupies completed portions of Arcturus Station, intended to become the Alliance's headquarters. Additional sectors are opened for the major nations military leaders.

Jeff "Joker" Moreau is born.

**2156 CE:**

Arcturus Station is formally inaugurated.

A small number of human children exposed to element zero exhibit minor telekinetic abilities.

Kai Leng is born.

**2157 CE:**

Pluto's orbit becomes circularized as a result of mass relay operations.

Jacob Taylor is born.

David Anderson graduates from Officer Candidate School with the rank of Second Lieutenant. He later that year graduates and receives the designation of N7.

**2157 CE: The Humiliation**  
Humanity makes violent first contact with another spacefaring race: the Turians. The Turians observe human explorers attempting to activate a dormant mass relay, a practice forbidden by galactic law after the Rachni Wars, and attack. Over the next ten months, humanity finds itself on the losing side of what is forever known to humanity as The Humiliation and by the Turians as the Relay 314 War.

The Humiliation could have, at one point, been avoided during the events after the occupation of Shanxi, when the Citadel Council, now fully aware of the existence of a previously unknown race and the Turians beginning to prepare for full-scale war, interceded. However, all hope disappeared when the Turians discovered one of the espionage probes launched into Turian space and the demolition fusion warhead. With this evidence, the Turian Hierarchy demanded and received approval from the Citadel Council for the pacification of the Systems Alliance.

With the approval given, it was only a matter of time between the internal weakness of the Systems Alliance and the overwhelming might of the Turian Hierarchy that eventually Systems Alliance voted for surrender. However, even with the surrender, the Holy Britannian Empire, the Russian Federation, and Chinese Federation continued to resist, resulting in dreadful Turian losses as the fighting in the major cities continued.

It was only after the simultaneous assassinations of all three leaders, Emperor Charles zi Britannia, President Dmitri Probkharov, and Premier Hu Song-lin, by Spectres that the three powers surrendered to the Turian Hierarchy.

With the last bastions of resistance now defeated, the Turian Hierarchy, with the approval of the Citadel Council forces the Systems Alliance to sign the Erta Ale Accords, reducing Earth and its remaining existing colonial holdings into a "client state" of the Turian Hierarchy in order to "rehabilitate" humanity to be "responsible members of the galactic community".

_Key sections of the Erta Ale Accords:  
_  
Article 227 charges the former leaders of the Systems Alliance, with "supreme offense[s] against intergalactic morality and the sanctity of treaties", and that Turian Hierarchy and Associated Powers would "request ... the people of the migrant fleet [to] surrender to them of the ex- leaders in order that they may be put on trial."

Article 231 (the so called "War Guilt Clause") stated humanity accepted responsibility for "all the loss and damage to which the Turian Hierarchy and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Humanity"

Military restrictions: Humanity allowed a military that includes half the number of dreadnaughts and redraws the ration of the Treaty of Fairaxen to 10:6:6:2:1 where for every 10 dreadnaughts the Turian Hierarchy has humanity may possess 1.

Holy Britannian Empire institutes the After Humiliation calender with 2157 being the inaugural 0 AH

**2158 CE (1 AH):**  
Former Imperial Consort Marianne vi Britannia is coronated as Empress of the Holy Britannian Empire.

Humans learn the potential of biotics. An international effort to track Element Zero exposure begins. Roughly 10% of recorded exposed children show indications of biotic ability.

**2159 CE (2 AH):**

Saren Arterius becomes the youngest Turian inducted into the Spectres.

The Systems Alliance is forced to purchase Galerkin Station back from the Turians for full cost and converts the facility into a biotic research and training facility.

**2160 CE (3 AH):**

The Systems Alliance Parliament is formed with Turian oversight.

With the existence of human biotics firmly established, the Biotic Acclimation and Temperance Training (BAaT) program is set up on Galerkin Station to train potential candidates and develop biotic implants.

The biotic drug red sand is first used.

The Blue Suns mercenary group is founded by Zaeed Massani and Vido Santiago in the Skyllian Verge.

Kasumi Goto is born.

**2161 CE (4 AH):**

Amid the insistence of the Turian Hegemony for worries over gene therapy and genetic medication making humanity uncontainable, the Systems Alliance Parliament is forced to pass the Sudham-Wolcott Genetic Heritage Act. This imposes sharp restrictions on all uses of genetic engineering, but provides subsidies for "approved" applications.

Tali'Zorah nar Rayya is born.

Jack is born.

Citing a "lack of faith" in the Systems Alliance, the Holy Britannian Empire withdraws from the Systems Alliance and opens up diplomatic and trade ties with the Quarian Migrant Fleet, Batarian Hegemony, various Krogan clans, and a majority of the Council races. The Systems Alliance suffers a massive loss of prestige and power and the Empire rapidly ascends in power to the consternation of the Turian Hierarchy.

Britannia reveals the 'K' Program, similar to the N7 Program, to the public and begins a massive military reorganization and buildup after leaving the Systems Alliance.


	2. The Day Innocence Died

**Prologue:**

**The Day Innocence Died**

**December 1st, 5 AH (2162 CE)**

**Aries Gardens, Pendragon**

**Holy Britannian Empire**

Prince Lelouch vi Britannia, a boy far more mature than his seven years would have you believe, breathed a sigh of relief. Today he didn't have to spend the entire day studying – instead, his mother had decided that he not only needed a break, but that she needed one as well.

That was why they were at the Aries Gardens right now, relaxing. It was definitely different from the all-day, everyday learning that had been pushed upon him ever since he could remember. Tactics, history, literature, art, his mind felt like it would bleed from everything they tried to cram in it, even when he knew he could handle it. He was only seven years old, after all.

"Lelouch," his mother called out, causing him to look up from where he was sitting, "quit looking like the Thinker and join us for a picnic."

His little sister Nunnally giggled, causing his lips to twitch upwards as she shook her little finger at him.

"You shouldn't be so unhappy big brother," she scolded lightly. It was amazing how intelligent she was for a five year old, but then again, it seemed intelligence ran in the family. "If you keep it up then Euphemia will find another bo~y."

Lelouch could only splutter at his sister's teasing as she giggled, the Empress laughing along with her.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he declared, crossing his arms and glowering at his younger sister and mother.

"That's enough kids, let's eat," Marianne stated as she finished setting the blanket and basket, proceeding to extract the small feast for the three of them.

As she fished out the food for them, Lelouch watched his mother. The last couple of years had not been the greatest for her. He didn't remember the war, his father's death or anything like that, but what he did remember was how she had persevered. It seemed like the first thing he could recall about her was her indomitable spirit. She was the Empress, but she was also a widow with two children. Even as the world seemed to cave in around them, she had stood resolute. Now it was paying off with Britannia once again ascendant; even in his young mind he could see the signs all around as Pendragon quickly rebuilt and expanded, wealth filling the Empire's coffers. Her sacrifices were not in vain.

It had cost her, of course. Even as a woman of merely thirty, her lustrous black hair already had flecks of silver at the temples, she had wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and dark circles under the eyes, indicative of strain and countless days deprived of sleep. But through it all, that she always had a smile for them, her children, never ceased to amaze him.

The fact that she was taking the time to spend with them for something like this, despite all her responsibilities, was one of the things he loved most about her.

"Here you go, Lelouch." The Empress handed him a fine china plate with a sandwich on it, a warm, inviting smile on her face.

Nunnally pouted, obviously wanting to be the first one served, but she lit up when her mother provided her with her own sandwich as she began happily munching on it.

To anyone looking in on the event, it would be the most picturesque of things, a mother and her children sharing a simple picnic in a garden. It was the type of things that anyone took for granted if they had the time.

For Lelouch, it was perfect; there was no class work, no studying, no stress, and no Darlton running him into the ground.

So when his mother's head disappeared in a fine red mist, blood and grey matter flying all over the picnic set, Nunnally, and splashing over his face, his mind took what seemed an eternity to process what was happening. And when it did, the entire world crashed down around him as he watched his mother, the Empress of Britannia, sans her head, slump over on Nunnally, her shrieks snapping his mind back reality.

"ORANGE," he screamed, already processing what was happening as he moved towards Nunnally, the poor girl shrieking as she the blood continued soaking into her dress. He moved the corpse away as Jeremiah Gottwald came through the garden and to their side.

Everything turned to chaos then, as his Knight grabbed both himself and Nunnally and placed up an energy barrier, while in the meantime yelling for combat support. Lelouch had already stopped listening, his eyes traveling from his mother's body to where he knew the shot came from, he had worked back the trajectory of the round to a hillside kilometres away, and he knew there was only one possibility as to who the killers had been as he glared in that direction.

"Damn Dodos."

0000000

It was one of the first times he ever cursed; maybe he knew exactly where the shot came from, and maybe he didn't, but he knew who had fired it. What he didn't know was that his epithet was received by his mother's killer loud and clear as Spectre Saren Arterius read the Prince's lips through his scope.

Growling in barely controlled fury, Saren's finger flipped the nub on the massive sniper rifle from 'safe' back to 'armed' as he started making corrections for the range and the barrier that now would only serve as a momentary impediment between himself and that little monkey that _dared_ to call him a Dodo.

All it would take is two shots, the first to take out the barrier, the second to put down that insolent little shit. Yes, that was all it would take.

A clawed hand clapped on his shoulder as his talon curled around the trigger.

"That's enough, Saren," the flanging tone of his spotter called out as he removed his claw from the trigger as he looked up into the tattooed face of Nihlus Kryik as his fellow Spectre spoke, "we were here to assassinate the Empress, not her children."

"The orders were to eliminate the leadership of Britannia, I'm merely making sure that the next two in line aren't a problem," he retorted, looking back through the scope.

"And if you fire again, we'll have the entirety of the Britannian military on top of us before we can exfil. We need to go, _now_."

Realizing the truth to his subordinate's observations, Saren growled as he took one more look at the boy who was still staring directly at him. How he knew he was there bothered him, but if he fired now, he shook his head. The Council didn't know about this mission, especially since the two of them _were_ Spectres, and it had to stay that way.

"Right," Saren responded finally, getting up and leaving the rifle where it lay. A demo charge would destroy the evidence of their presence, and Nihlus had already planted evidence that would suggest rebels originating from someplace on this damned planet called 'Japan' had really been the culprits. There would be no evidence that this was a Turian operation.

So why did that not stop him from feeling in his gizzard that he had just made a fatal error?

0000000

**December 11th, 5 AH**

**Saint Darwin's Cathedral, Pendragon**

**Holy Britannian Empire**

Everything had been a blur for him since his mother had died. From being rushed away from the Gardens to Astolat, the largest and most secure military city in Britannia, it had seemed like forever that he was there, his mother's blood dripping down the front of his doublet. For an entire day Britannia had been chaos, with the military hunting for the men who had claimed the Empress.

It had been two that morning when Schneizel and Cornelia had shown up with the news that the Empress's killers had not been found, though they had clues. Of course, he didn't really need any clues as to who did it; there was only one group who would go to such lengths to kill his mother.

It wasn't until that morning that he had been able to see Nunnally who had not said a word since yesterday according to his maid slash bodyguard, Sayoko. It was almost too much for him, and he had fallen asleep with her by his side, two siblings now without parents and whose innocence had already been consigned to history.

It was only then that everything fully crashed. With the Empress dead, the throne fell into his lap, he, who wasn't even eight years old at the time. What did he know about leading? How could he rule when his mother was dead? With Cornelia and Schneizel there, he had barely managed. There had been no grand coronation; he had insisted on that. Instead it was a quick, rushed affair; the Empire was in mourning and so was he. They did not have the time or the energy for anything fancy.

His eighth birthday came and went without him even noticing until Cornelia had pointed it out to him. He had been so busy planning his mother's state funeral that he hadn't even remembered. He could still remember Cornelia's shocked expression when he told her that birthdays were foolish sentiment. But what she had said after that had stunned him even more.

"You sounded just like Father," she had said quietly before she left the room.

He hadn't asked for more as to why she had said that. It really didn't matter – he had to focus on what was necessary. He had to lead.

His eyes traced down to his mother who now lay in state not too far away. It took every fiber of his being not to leave the throne as those who came to grieve for his mother saw her for the last time.

As much as he would have preferred that her funeral had been private and closed-casket, the large outpouring of support for his mother had stayed his hand. Instead, because of the "condition" of her body, he had had a professional recreation of her head placed on her. It still hurt looking at her and knowing that her death had left her nowhere near as pristine as she appeared.

He had withdrawn back into himself as he looked simply forward, until a series of gasps broke through the heavy silence. The doors to the Cathedral opened, causing him to refocus his attention as Jeremiah edged himself closer to his charge.

There, moving down the pews of the cathedral flanked by several Turians in Blackwatch colors with their weapons at the ready was General Desolas Arterius, commander of the Earth Inspection Forces. By his side and slightly behind him was another Turian, whom Lelouch didn't recognize but who obviously recognized him, if the hateful glare was anything to go by.

The entire cathedral was now deathly quiet; he could hear the clumping of the boots on marble as the Turian led his entourage past the glass-encased Empress and towards Lelouch.

"Your Highness," Jeremiah began only to stop with Lelouch's raised hand as the little Emperor stood up and walked towards the Turian, his eyes set in an impassive mask.

"Greetings Emperor Lelouch vi Britannia, I am General-"

"I know who you are," he said quietly, but sharply, his violet eyes narrowing. "What do you want?"

The Turian seemed to stop, as if unsure how to continue. It was obvious that he wasn't used to being interrupted nor have demands made of him, especially by a human. _Well, too bad_, Lelouch thought, _you killed my mother_.

"I am here to extend my condolences to you and promise to you that-"

"Leave."

Though he wasn't rewarded with any change in facial expression, the turian narrowed the plates near his eyes, as if his very existence was loathsome and Desolas was merely revealing his revulsion outwards. For himself, he was glad. Now he had the Turian at a disadvantage, because he hadn't shown his displeasure until now.

"What?!"

"Maybe you need an education in human etiquette, _Turian_," he said that with as much acid he could manage in his eight-year old voice, which was surprisingly a lot, "this," he motioned with his arms, "is a cathedral, a place of worship, and you are imposing upon my mother's state funeral with _armed Turian special operations soldiers._ If you are here to pay respects to my mother, then I demand, as Emperor, that your men either withdraw or they lower their weapons."

"I came here to offer my condolences for what happened to the previous Empress and you rebuff me, human?"

"And why would you be doing that, _Turian_? After all, the Empire no longer recognizes the authority of the Systems Alliance _OR_ the Turian Hierarchy. You have no reason to be here, unless you are here to size up the replacement."

The growl of the other Turian all but confirmed his observations, his eyes flicking to the second one before back to Desolas.

"I come here as a gesture of respect to you," Desolas finally spoke, his flanging voice barely containing disgust-

"I find it ironic that what you refer to as respect, I see as nothing more than insult. But since you came here to pay your respects, I will return them to you. Britannia will not rejoin the Systems Alliance, nor will we recognize the Turian Hierarchy as our so-called "caretakers" as you are so quick to remind humanity at every turn. Now that that is handled, _General Arterius_, I suggest you run back to your masters and remind them that Britannia has not violated any of your laws, nor have we violated the treaty you forced upon us through the barrel of a gun. That is, General, unless you want an incident that you are already instigating by unlawful trespass upon sovereign Britannian territory, I suggest you gather up your men and leave. _N__ow_."

The other Turian's hand flashed down to the pistol and was already drawing it up as Jeremiah moved forward now, monomolecular blades unsheathing from his wrist gauntlets as the Royal Guard surged forward to interpose themselves between their Emperor and the interlopers, halberds at the ready.

"Saren," Desolas's flanging voice warned, causing the Spectre to realize that the guards in front of him were not the only ones; they were supposed by the Knights set up in the rafters of the cathedral, whose weapons were already aimed at the intruders.

Lelouch was still trying to learn Turian body language, but it was beyond a doubt in his mind that Desolas Arterius was pissed. He had obviously intended to come in here, using this as the platform of a conquering general to impose terms upon the Britannian Empire via intimidating a very young Emperor. It was without a doubt that he, Lelouch, had been grossly underestimated.

_Good. Keep it up, turian. I have yet begun to fight.__  
_  
"You do realize you are threatening an appointed administrator for your species?"

"You haven't been listening to me, General. Britannia is no longer a member of the Systems Alliance; we do not recognize your authority. You are only allowed here because you are recognized as a member of the CITADEL races. And as for threatening," his eyes darted to Saren, "your subordinate was the one to level a weapon at me, and my men have only done what is necessary to protect me. After all, you have claimed the lives of both my parents, they would be in remiss of their duty if it happened a _third_ time."

"You seem to be mistaken. According to your media it was terrorists from Japan."

"That may be so, but I don't think even the black market is willing to give humans a Geth anti-material rifle, unless you wish to admit something here for us."

The gauntlet was laid; it would never hold up in the court of opinion, but that wasn't the point. He was letting the Turian know that he knew. That was all that mattered.

"There is always a first time," the Turian dismissed him, exactly what he had hoped for.

"Of course. Tell me, General, our species are not that different, so why is it that instead of extending to us the hand of friendship and educating us, you instead place my species under the yoke of servitude?"

"Because you are a reckless young species that needs to know your place on the galactic stage. You know not what is good for you, _human_."

_All objectives are cleared. Now, the time has come._

"To paraphrase the Bard:

Hath not a Human eyes? Hath not a Human hands, organs,  
Dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with  
Food, hurt with the same weapons, subject  
To diseases, heal'd by the same means  
Warm'd and cool'd by winter and summer  
As a Turian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed?  
If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us,  
do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?  
If are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that.  
If a Human wrong a Turian, what is his humility?  
Revenge. If a Turian wrong a Human, what should his  
Sufferance be by Turian example? Why, revenge.  
The villainy you teach me, I will execute,  
And it shall go hard but I will better the instruction."

Seeing the lack of comprehension on the Turian's face he gave the wintriest of smiles as he reached to his left arm and an omnitool revealed itself. Of course it was not referred to as one here in Britannia, but there was no doubt as to what it was.

"This entire incident has been streamed to the cultural attaché for the Salarian Embassy here in Pendragon," he continued, his eyes returning back to the General's as he gave the coldest stare he could with his eight year old face. The Turian setting his jowls was enough to let him know that he knew that Lelouch was referring to the STG member who was currently residing in the embassy serving as an analyst for Britannian ways and customs. "As soon as you exit this Cathedral, a formal complaint shall be filed with the Citadel about what has occurred here. Now, General, I will ask you one last time. Leave, _now_, or this diplomatic incident shall become a lot more complex."

_Do it, General, please, I would like nothing more than to cut you down for what I know you did_, he thought. _I might even make it quick_.

But the General stared at him for a moment longer, before he turned, his men repositioning themselves to guard their charge, and proceeded to walk away.

That only left one more Turian, who hadn't moved—_Saren, wasn't it?_—and he could feel the heat from the Turian's glare. If they were lasers there was no doubt in his mind that he would have been burnt to a crisp.

The Turian growled one more time, before spinning around and marching off. Only then did Lelouch allow himself a sigh of relief. Phase one had been completed.

0000000

_Damn humans_, Desolas Arterius thought as the shuttle they had arrived to Pendragon in darted out of the airspace, headed back up to space, his claws clicking against the chair arm, _damn them and their unpredictability_.

There was nothing that could have prepared him for this _child_ to not only upstage him, but to so effectively outmaneuver him that he had to show his back to the enemy. It was disgusting.

The sound of an armored fist colliding with metal caused him to look at Saren's, whose gauntlet had already caused a dent in the bulkhead.

His brother had always had issues when it came to the reigning in his passion, but this was the first time he had seen him this far outside of his normal restraint. The fact that he was being overt in his displeasure was both disquieting and useful for his aims.

"I had that _child_ in my sights," Saren snarled, Desolas thankful that the compartment was sealed and swept of bugs, it wouldn't do to have any ears catch wind of his schemes, "two shots was all I needed and we wouldn't have had this problem."

"Possibly," he admitted, "but we could not have predicted the outcome. What's done is done Saren."

"Give me a chance to fix my mistake, all I need is-"

"No, the opportunity has passed; assassination will only confirm that child's accusations. This was off the books for a reason."

"But if we are not going to eliminate this child-"

"I said assassination is not an option, Saren. There are other ways to eliminate a target without the usage of a bullet. As…distasteful as it is, politics and the media will be a perfect weapon in this case. After all, that child made a fatal error of accusing the Turian Hierarchy of assassination; the Citadel Council will not tolerate such accusations with the right…motivation."

Saren chose to take a seat now, settling in, although his displeasure was still palpable.

"Don't worry, Saren," Desolas continued. "Give me a few Earth months, and this child will not be a problem – I'll see to that. If that fails, we can always return to your specialty; we'll just have to make sure the Batarians take the fall this time around."

Yes, he could see the plan coming together quite nicely. He would regain the honor he had just lost with interest.

After all, humans were nothing more than criminal, warmongering children.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

As the wise prophet once said, "And here we go."

This story, as you have no doubt realized, is a crossover between Code Geass and Mass Effect. It is significantly different from both canons; realistically, the only things that are the same are the characters and most of the technology.

There will be action. There will be adventure. There will be romance. There will also be a massive and comprehensive codex. But like all things, there is no light without the darkness, and so there will be blood, death, and violence by the bucketload.

For those of you interested in the pairings, the good ship KaLulu has definitely set sail, and Magery laments the fact that BroShep/Miri doesn't shorten further. The good ship Shakarian is currently docked, as is the good ship Shiara - both are undergoing repairs, and we are unsure which will set sail first.

It is worthwhile to note that this story will be updated whenever we (AlSmash, Magery, and dw77) can find the time and willpower in between our other works. That is not to say that this fic is not a priority, but we like to spread the love in our own works as well.

If you wouldn't mind, leave us whatever you please, reviews preferably, but of course we don't mind the kind follow and fav here or there. And if you're really into the interactive type of reading, feel free to hit any of us up with any questions or comments you don't want public.

Until next time, readers!


	3. The White Prince Awakens

**Chapter One:**

**The White Prince Awakens**

**2162 (5 AH):**

December 1st: Marianne vi Britannia, the 110th Empress of the Holy Britannian Empire is assassinated. Evidence suggests that Japanese nationalists were behind the actions.

December 4th: Lelouch vi Britannia is crowned as the 111th Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire.

December 8th: At the state funeral of the former Empress Marianne, Emperor Lelouch publicly accuses the Turian Hierarchy of the assassination of his mother.

December 12th: In a sternly worded missive issued by the Citadel Council, Emperor Lelouch vi Britannia is censured for "inappropriate and irresponsible remarks regarding the integrity of the honor of the Turian Hierarchy".

December 13th: Emperor Lelouch rebukes the Citadel Council, publicly criticizing them as a group of "pusillanimous politicians more intent on maintaining the status quo and lining their pockets than actually doing their damned jobs."

December 18th: The Citadel Council issues a travel advisory for all Citadel races concerning travel to Britannia while issuing mobilization orders to the Turian 1st and 2nd Fleets.

December 21st: An assassination attempt upon Prime Minister Genbu Kururugi is thwarted by his son, Suzaku, who manifested his biotic powers for the first time in pushing his father out of the way from the other side of the room. All evidence points to a Britannian assassination plot.

December 24th: Citing inability to lead at this current time due to "grief" and capitalizing on a legalistic loophole in the Britannian Imperial Constitution, Emperor Lelouch vi Britannia steps down as Emperor, nominating Prime Minister Schenizel el Britannia to serve in his stead until his eighteenth birthday. Schneizel accepts the nomination and assumes the position of Prime Minister-Regent.

**2163 (6 AH):**

The first experimental L1 Biotic implants are used in humans.

A series of starship drive failures occur over populated areas in the human colony worlds. While it is believed to be orchestrated, no evidence is found to confirm this. The resulting events lead to a second generation of humans born with biotic potential.

Primarch Vyrmus issues Shadow Order 66 to his generals, authorizing the "measured termination" of a "percentage" of "confirmed awakened" human biotics on Systems Alliance colony worlds.

June 17th: The Imperial Pendragon, the private ship of the Emperor of Britannia, explodes near Charon while en route to a getaway on Logres. Emperor Lelouch vi Britannia and Princess Nunnally vi Britannia are confirmed to have been on board after forensic analysis of the debris.

July 6th: General Desolas Arterus is recalled to Palaven for reassignment. In his place, General Adrien Victus is designated to replace Arterius.

000000000

July 14th, 6 AH

Pendragon Imperial Palace, Pendragon

Holy Britannian Empire

Adrien Victus was not looking forward to the meeting he was about to have. Spirits, he didn't want to do this! He didn't want this spirits-damned job; he would have even preferred to be hunting the rumoured 'redoubt' that humanity had supposedly built, which was more than likely nothing more than a paranoid delusions of Desolas.

But Desolas had been "recalled", the polite term for reassigned after the political shitstorm that had resulted with the death of the young Britannian Emperor. While he knew that Desolas certainly wasn't creative enough for that, there was just too much damage caused by the events and the accusations flying around for him to be anywhere near Britannia until things calmed down, if they ever did.

So they had called him, Adrien Victus, someone who loathed politics more than anything else to take over the position Desolas had vacated. He had laughed when the Primarch had contacted him, but after Vyrmus had explained why he was selected, he knew that he was right, even if he didn't want to admit it.

Yet with that in mind, he hadn't even had a week to settle in before orders had come in from Palaven to approach the Britannian Prime Minister—Britannia had yet to decide on a new Emperor, rather stunning considering how fast they had moved when the Empress had been assassinated—and inform him of Palaven's expectations.

It didn't take four years of studying humanity to know that this was a critical error on Palaven's part, there was no logical way that the Britannians after all that had happened would accept any imposition of terms by anyone, let alone the Heirarchy. If anything, there would be a reignition of hostilities, and while he had a good grasp of the Human Systems Alliance and their military, the Britannian armed forces were entirely different. Even the STG assistance he had called favors in to obtain was having issues getting an accurate read of Britannia's military capability. If conflict broke out again, the Heirarchy _would_ emerge victious, but it would be extraordinarily ugly and probably also be a massive blow to the idea that they could act as the Council's enforcers when it turned out humanity could bleed them even _after_ they'd been "conquered".

He had voiced those concerns to Vyrmus, but had been overruled, though he had been given a two day extension to prepare. But still, at the end of it he was to appear in front of the Prime Minster of Britannia and fulfil his mission. Now those two days were up.

As the shuttle landed in the front of the Pendragon Imperial Palace he once again went over the information he had been provided by the Salarians, none of it to his liking.

According to what the STG could dredge up based upon his few interactions with the Human Systems Alliance, even though his position was that of a politician as Prime Minister, Schneizel el Britannia was much, _much_ more than that. One STG report noted that out of all the options of the Britannia line, Schneizel was probably the best option for Emperor without exception. He was young, charismatic, and from what reports could show, he was just as capable militarily as his father had been. All of that combined together to make Victus very apprehensive. He was dealing with a formidable politician _and_ general on his home turf, sent in to make demands that the Hierarchy would risk much, much more than it would gain to enforce if Schneizel refused.

The door opened and his Blackwatch guards shifted out, their weapons not drawn. He needed to lower the guard of the Britannians if he had any chance at even getting through. If Desolas was all about flaunting power, he was about restraining any overt displays. He was a visiting member of a species that had conquered humanity; his power was already on display by the very fact he was _there_.

He glanced at the honor guard of twelve Britannians in ceremonial gear that did not take away from their battle-ready status even at parade rest; they lined both sides of the shuttle, weapons likewise not drawn, faces hidden behind helmets. A single young man stood between them, dressed quite ridiculously in Victus's opinion – his clothes were green and white and he had a rather funny hat. But then again, almost all of Britannia's high fashion was ridiculous and inefficient. The stranger's brownish peach hair hung down around his collarbone in two bangs while his blue eyes showed a sense of delight. That made Victus nervous. Why would a Britannian, any Britannian, be _happy_ to see a turian?

"Greetings General Victus, I am Earl Kanon Maldini, Prime Minister Schneizel's aide-de-camp. He is awaiting your presence, if you will follow me."

Victus nodded gravely at the Earl as he followed, his Blackwatch arranging themselves to his sides and behind him while the Britannians circled around them.

The walk took a little while; Schneizel's aide-de-camp tried engaging him with idle chit-chat, but Victus wasn't interested. Instead, he took the time to study his surroundings to get a better bearing on who he was about to meet. The best way to get an accurate read of a leader was to look at what he decorated his place with. Unfortunately, if anything, he got a better read of Britannia itself from his surroundings than the man; he was fairly certain that Schneizel hadn't even bothered to do anything to the place.

Either way, that wasn't good – on one hand, Schneizel was one step ahead of him, and knew all the tricks for figuring out his opponents and thus how to counter them. On the other hand, Schneizel cared little for his current surroundings, which meant he would probably moving elsewhere, and the likeliest place for that was into the Imperial Palace as the Emperor. If it was the former, Schneizel was every bit as canny as his reputation suggestion. If it was the latter, the STG didn't know anything about it, and that never meant anything good.

They stopped in front of a pair of thick, ornate doors, the twelve guardsman shifting their positions to the sides of the doors in a defensive measure. They hadn't drawn their weapons yet, of course, and Victus doubted they would unless he initiated the hostilities.

"I apologize, General Victus, but I have to ask that your guard stay here."

He knew his captain of the guard, Vergrull Tyzuris was going to protest so he made a snap decision.

"That's acceptable, as long as your guards likewise stay here."

Kanon glanced back at one of the guards with a faint smirk on his lips before looking back towards Victus and bowing his head.

"Of course," he said, too calmly. It was then that Victus knew he'd already lost the first exchange. He also realized now exactly why the number twelve was setting off warning alarms; in his head, it clicked why there were only twelve guards… _because they were the Knights of the Round_.

He had heard stories from the First Contact War about the Knights of the Round. They were supposed to be the best of the best of Britannia, warriors and assassins who were on par with some of their best Spectres. While their technology had been inferior to the Turians in several cases during the war, they still had built up enough of a worrisome history as to be talked about in several high-level briefings. And back in the war, for most of the Heirarchy's generals, even acknowledging a human as a skilled warrior was almost unheard of.

The last he had known, all of the Knights of Round were dead. Which meant that either Britannia was keeping up appearances, or they had found another crop of capable soldiers to replace the previous group. It didn't really matter. Victus saw it as what it was – a display of strength to match his own.

But they had lost this exchange, because if Maldini's reaction was any indicator, they had never planned on letting the Knights of the Round attend the meeting. The fact that he had reflexively requested that the Knights of the Round stay here was sure to be taken a sign that he was nervous, and right now it wouldn't even be entirely inaccurate.

Kanon then turned around and opened the door, making a motion to invite him in, and he took the invitation and stepped in, the door closing softly behind him.

Instantly he was alert as he noticed the ornate wooden desk where the Prime Minister was supposed to be was empty, his hand sliding down to the pistol he always carried as he scanned the room for threats and-

"Out here, General," came a cool tenor, causing his hand to freeze. He turned to his right to see Prince-Prime Minister Schneizel el Britannia sitting at a table in the sunlight. "Please, do join me."

Taking the invitation he walked towards the Prince, noting ornate wares for human consumption that he had spent only a cursory moment on studying. His eyes noted that there were two sets of plates and glasses, along with two separate containers for liquids, the wares designed for Turian hands.

He then glanced over the Prime Minister, who, while young, seemed to look older than he really was. Blond hair of medium length and light purple eyes that scanned him intently. He was dressed in a uniform similar to Maldini's but in blue, and in his hand was a cup and a saucer. On the table was a small tablet that was not powered at the moment.

"Please, sit," he offered gently, making it obvious who was in control of this meeting, and to be honest, Victus had already recognized that he could not change the tempo. This princeling had the advantage and momentum, "I hope you don't mind that we talk out here, I sometimes find sitting behind a desk to be quite restricting, especially when it is such a pleasant day and the flowers in Exelica are blooming."

Victus turned and saw that indeed, the observation was true. He hadn't noted it before because it was extraneous information that had no bearing on this meeting, but now that it had been mentioned, even with his militarily-focused mind, he could see why Schneizel might be interested judging by the beauty.

"I had my cook prepare you some refreshments, if you are interested. They are of course dextro-based."

_Britannia custom, need to accept or it's a breach of civil decorum_, his mind quickly recognized. In many ways it was an almost Turian-like in rigidity, he mused as he accepted it in thanks. Taking the container, he filled up the cup with a blue concoction and then took a sip of it.

His brow furrowed at the taste, a sweet but pleasant tea of some sort judging by the aftertaste, which made sense considering Britannian tea was a bit of a fad in the Citadel, so of course they would be working on a dextro-based analog to increase their market. Logging that away for further review he placed down the cup. It was time to get this done, come whatever may.

"Emperor Schneizel," he spoke, his flanging voice ringing out-

"It's Prime Minister," the Prince interrupted, causing Victus to stop as he considered what that meant before realising it simply didn't make any sense. "It's been agreed upon by my siblings and myself no one of this generation will accept that mantle of Emperor in remembrance of my brother and his mother."

There was no malice in his tone, he noted; the entire time the Prime Minister was simply conversational. That was a lot different than what he expected. It was almost Asari-like, and he had to suppress the urge to shudder that thought. The Asari always got under his skin with how maddeningly calm they seemed to be... unless they were antagonized, in which case Victus had more important things to worry about than simply being annoyed.

"My apologies," he replied, accepting the parry in the intricate dance, "Prime Minister Schneizel, I'm here at the behest of the Primarch to ascertain the status of the Holy Britannian Empire in regards to the refusal to rejoin the Human Systems Alliance and formally request that you reconsider your nation's violation of the Erta Ale Accords."

Schneizel regarded him quietly for a moment before taking a sip of his own tea.

"Curious. You ask us to reconsider, while your orders from the Primarch tell you explicitly to demand that we rejoin the HSA or face the possibilities of sanctions and/or hostilities."

A chill ran through Victus. How did they know his orders?! These were orders only exchanged between himself, the Primarch and his generals. If they knew it, just what in spirits are they going to do with it?

Unless their ploy simply extended to announcing the fact and seeing what his reaction was. But if they knew the Primarch's orders then they would know that he...Spirits!

"One of the first acts my brother made was to issue an Imperial Order to both the Knights of the Round and the OSI to ascertain Turian involvement in the assassination of Empress Marianne by any means necessary, short of instigating war. We reached out to some our allies with...grudges with the Hierarchy for assistance in this endeavor."

_Has to be the Quarians,_ Victus realized. They were the only one race with the hacking capabilities, short of the Geth, who might be able to crack Turian encryption.

"How long have you been reading our transmissions?"

"Since around the time the Emperor stepped down."

_They've been reading our communications for almost a year and we haven't had a clue?! Impossible!_

_But if they have been reading our communications that long, it's possible the fact that they haven't come forward with any information indicates that they haven't found any incriminating evidence on the Hierarchy or..._ he focused back on Schneizel, _they _have_ found something and are merely waiting for our move._

It was maddening, because if they had evidence that any Turian had involvement in the assassination of the Empress, sanctioned or unsanctioned, and they released it when the Hierarchy started saber-rattling for whatever reason, then it would be devastating. It would place the Hierarchy in a position where they may have deliberately instigated the fight, even ignoring the grey area of the Britannian secession. Is that why they withdrew Desolas? Because it _was_ sanctioned. Spirits, if that was true...

"The matter is, General Victus, Britannia is right now in a lose-lose situation with the current options on the table. If Britannia rejoins the HSA we lose everything we have gained because the Primarch will demand we return to a vassal state. If we do not rejoin, the following war will result in a Pyrrhic victory for the Hierarchy; not only will your losses be significant, but the Turians position as the police force of the Citadel will be discredited. However, the fact of the matter is that it will be a _victory_. We will_ lose_. I'm not sure if you're familiar with the expression 'Catch-22', but this is the situation I face. We lose our way of life, or we lose our lives. As Prime Minister, I cannot accept _either_ outcome. "

Now he knew how Desolas felt when he had that facedown with the Emperor. Spirits be damned, it was like dealing with an Asari and Salarian rolled into a single package with a bit of Krogan on the side. The man might be claiming an untenable position, but it was untenable for the Heirarchy too; Britannia obviously wasn't going to accept re-joining the HSA, but any attempt to discipline them would cost the Heirarchy _and_ the Council far more than they would gain.

"But," Schneizel continued, "there is a third option that may avoid those two eventualities, if the Hierarchy is interested in listening."

Victus could only stare at him for a moment before collecting himself.

"While I represent the Turian interests in the Sol System, any final decisions must be made by the Primarch. However, I can advance him your suggestions."

Schneizel nodded his head softly before he took another sip of his tea in quiet contemplation. The tension was nearly suffocating now between them as Victus wondered exactly what the young prince was going to suggest.

"While Britannia is not interested in rejoining the HSA, we would, however, be willing to form an alliance with them. This is predicated upon the condition that we can work out a deal. What Britannia wants is self-autonomy and the ability to expand to previously unsettled planets. We will not impede into Turian enforcement protocols upon the HSA, nor will we grant political asylum to citizens of the HSA unless it falls under Citadel law. However, we are allowed a naval fleet under the Treaty of Farixen with special accommodations made based on territorial control which will be negotiated with the Council."

"And why would special accommodations be necessary?"

"Because we currently have three Dreadnoughts and two Carriers, and we need those to defend our interests against our enemies; we do not want any form of Turian protection. We will protect ourselves."

Victus couldn't hide his shock now, the STG had projected from shipping manifests that Britannian had one Dreadnought and a Carrier, where the hell did these other three capital ships come from? Where had they been hiding? How come no one even knew about them?

It wasn't enough to turn any battle, but that type of firepower could be a significant bother if the Hierarchy played softball against Britannia. This was fast escalating beyond what he expected…

"According to our intelligence you only have a Dreadnought and a Carrier."

"Officially, yes," Schneziel responded with a small smile that sent a chill down Victus's spine.

"However, towards the end of the First Contact War, before we lost Arcturus, it was decided by my father that we begin thinking towards the future. With that in mind, he ordered our newest built dreadnoughts and carrier to make a relay jump to the Britannian colony of Logres. We then wiped all evidence of those ships from all logs and ordered the ships to be powered down and their crews added to the population of the colony. When the Empress seceded, it was decided to activate those assets in the event of the Hierarchy deciding to immediately attack Britannia in retaliation."

"Of course," he said with a shrug, "that never happened. But for the sake our discussions here, it would be best if I place all of my cards on the table to show how I wish to avoid war, not as a position of weakness, but as an understanding that war would gain nothing for either of our species."

"So let me get this straight," Victus spoke with a hint of incredulity – he was expecting some kind of camera to pop up any second in some kind of human humor show after _that_ declaration. "You are revealing that you have a hidden military force that could cause significant damage to the Turian Hierarchy not for any type of bargaining chip, but because you claim to want peace?"

"An accurate analysis, General."

Spirits, the _Krogan_ were a lot easier to deal with than this. There was no reason to reveal your military strength to a possible enemy with a superior force that Victus could fathom, and that worried him because if he'd learned one thing from this discussion, Schneizel had a reason for _everything_.

"Off the record, you understand what you are demanding Prime Minister?"

"I'm not so much demanding as much as I am maximizing the chances for my species to have an opportunity to prove ourselves. You and I both know what this occupation is all about; your Primarch is afraid of what humanity is capable of, and rightfully so. That is why your predecessor worked so hard to restrain humanity. But all he has done is worsen the situation. To be perfectly honest, if humanity had not been treated the way it had, Britannia would not have found it advantageous to secede. If anything, the Hierarchy is solely responsible for our decisions. The Britannian Empire is a monument to your sins. For the sake of your people and mine, do not make it a graveyard as well."

He couldn't find himself disagreeing with that summary. If he had been in charge he would have certainly been less restrictive in the sanctions of Erta Ale. But...

"You're playing a dangerous game, Prime Minister, the Primarch and Councilor may not be as understanding as I am of the situation."

"Of course. But you aren't the only Council race I've been communicating with. Ambassador Idrissa, Consort Sha'ira, and Councilor Balin have been quite interested in what I have been discussing with them."

Divide and conquer, a smart strategy. Even though the Council appeared to be a united front, that was far from the truth. _We each have our petty squabbles – if he can get the Asari or Salarians to side with him there will be nothing we can do. So that must be his contingency plan if the Primarch says no. Rather impressive, I came in ill-prepared for this. Although I don't really think anyone else would have done any better._

"I'll make sure to inform the Primarch of the... arrangements you have been making."

"Please do, it would be unfortunate for any misunderstandings to take place."

Sensing that this meeting was closed, Victus stood up.

"Well then, I guess I shall be returning to submit my report, good day Pri-"

"Just one moment, General," Schneizel interrupted as respectfully as possible, "I know our professional business has been fulfilled, but I would like to ask you a personal question."

"Go on."

"On Eden Prime, you fought against my uncle, Vincent zi Britannia. I'd like to hear about it."

He paused to stare at the Prime Minister, now realizing what the blond hair was reminding him of.

Taking a few moments to deliberate he sat back down.

"There is this human game I keep hearing about, I believe you call it chess. If you will teach me to play it, I will tell you about your uncle."

Schneizel's smile widened a bit, allowing a show of pearly white teeth.

"General, you came to the right place, it just so happens that chess is just as much a Britannia family tradition as ruling is..."

000000000

August 15th: The Leviathan of Dis, a genetically-engineered living starship believed to be nearly a billion years old, is discovered by a Batarian survey team on the planet Jartar. The Leviathan disappears under dubious circumstances after a Batarian dreadnought passes through the Dis System.

November 12th: The Holy Britannian Empire, Human Systems Alliance, and Turian Hierarchy sign a non-aggression pact at Arcturus Station. The Holy Britannian Empire signs the Treaty of Farixen placing them under the same provision as the HSA with a 5:3:1 ratio of dreadnoughts. The Holy Britannian Empire then petitions the Council for an embassy on the Citadel.

**2164 (7 AH):**

Britannia initiates Plan Arthur, modernizing the entire military focusing around a more carrier centric vision. All of the ground forces are absorbed into the 'K' Program, which includes the designations K1 to K7 to match the HSA N-Program, with similar entry requirements. Ordinary soldiers, those not capable of achieving a numerical K designation are simply referred to as Knights.

As part of Plan Arthur, in coalition with Cerberus, the top-secret Camelot project begins. Its guiding principles are the same as its motto – _be better_. Out of the initial twelve test subjects, all children aged between ten and twelve, seven 'drop out' in the first eight months after rejecting their experimental eezo conditioning.

**2165 (8 AH):**

The "Human Explosion". Britannian begins a massive expansion of their territories by founding colonies and increasing trade alliances with many of the other species who recognize Citadel authority. Resultant Turian response forces the Systems Alliance to likewise begin expanding. Tensions begin to mount between the Batarians, Systems Alliance, and Holy Britannian Empire over the territory in the Skyllian Verge.

News organizations throughout Citadel space are hacked by an organization referring to itself as Cerberus. In a "Declaration of Intent", the organization lays out the foundations and reasoning behind the "coming offensive" against the Turian Hierarchy for "injustices meted upon humanity".

After a disagreement between Vido Santiago and Zaeed Massani over hiring Batarians into the Blue Suns, Vido is forced to flee by Zaeed with the assistance of an unknown third party. Zaeed Massani renames the Blue Suns as "Tacitus".

**2166 (9 AH):**

Grissom Academy is opened.

Three more subjects are removed from the Camelot project after they failed to reach their predicted biotic potential. Only two subjects remain.

**2167 (10 AH):**

The magazine Fornax is launched.

L2 Biotic implants are first developed and used in humans.

Reports of mysterious ships being spotted all over Citadel Space begin accumulating. All attempts to contact ships are met with silence and ships disappear before an accurate sensor read is made of them. Salarian STG begins accumulating a report on these mysterious sightings but are unable to confirm them other than theorizing the possibility the new sightings are a "possible new species".

March 7th: The Citadel Council grants the Holy Britannian Empire an embassy on the Citadel.

August 3rd: The Citadel Council, under pressure from the Turian Hierarchy, grants the Systems Alliance an embassy on the Citadel

September 16th: Prince-Prime Minister Schneizel el Britannia delivers his _Beast of Human Possibility_ speech at the opening of the Britannian Embassy on the Citadel:

**Codex Entry:**

**Transcript of the ****_Beast of Human Possibility _****speech given by Prince-Prime Minister Schneizel el Britannia**

Thank you, Ambassador Irissa. Sentient beings of the Citadel, as some of you are more than likely aware, I am Prime Minister Schneizel el Britannia of Earth's Holy Britannian Empire.

However, I do not come here as a Prime Minister or as a Britannian citizen: I come here as a representative of my species.

Our species has a saying that dates back at least two thousand years that originated in a Systems Alliance member country: May you live in interesting times. It is meant as a curse, but I feel it can be a blessing, for we all live in interesting times.

In three days, the Citadel will mark the tenth anniversary of the resolution of the Relay 314 War. A war in which my species, in our haste to rapidly expand into the stars as generations of my kind who had never had the opportunity to have wished for their children, committed crimes which we were not aware of. Instead of communications of friendship and peace in which we as a species had yearned for, we were met with weapons fire and death. We fought an unknown enemy force that refused to communicate with us, I would ask what grounds do you have to punish us for your failures?

At least, that is the Turian Heirarchy would want you to believe any human would say. Time and again, they have claimed we are deceitful criminals who are as shifty as the Quarians, as greedy as the Volus, as vicious as the Rachni, as arrogant as the Batarians, and as war hungry as the Krogans. According to them, they are doing you a grand service by keeping us in a cage. Well, they are right, but for all the wrong reasons.

What they have truly caged is that which makes humanity so different and difficult to understand. Two hundred and four years ago, my ancestor, Arthur zi Britannia, at the Requiem Conference, in the face of the possibility that our last chance at peace would fail, spoke to all of the delegates there about what he called the 'beast of human possibility'. My ancestor, who was my age at the time, spoke to men and women decades his senior about how it was time to stop trying to use that beast to kill one another and instead better ourselves. A man, who only three years before committed the unconscionable sin of patricide, stood before his seniors and begged them, not for their generation, but for the future generations yet to be born, that they be left with a world without despair, full of possibility. It is widely credited in our collective history that that speech is the one that changed everything and the Requiem Accords were signed to usher in an unprecedented era of peace that had _never before been achieved in our history_.

I come here today in much the same way my ancestor has, not as a representative of my nation, but as a voice for those who cannot speak and for those who will not speak for fear of retaliation by the very beings who are tasked with controlling their possibility and ignore their mandate as caretakers of the galaxy.

I speak here to you now, of the beast of human possibility. It is not a beast because it is evil, but because like any species that is raised, it can be good or bad based upon how it is nurtured. Our possibility can achieve the greatest things, in ten years our species achieved full manipulation of Element Zero because we applied ourselves, what species can claim such an achievement, or we can achieve the worst, as I mentioned before, the war in which my ancestor stopped, the Quintipartite War, claimed one point five _billion_ lives before it was stopped. We have waged war on the most insignificant of reasons and we have created vast art and cultures which have taken even your breath away. We are a race of such contradictions that to all of you we seem insane, but our contradictions and individuality is what makes us strong.

I am not here to claim that the Citadel Council and the Turian Hierarchy were not just in their decision to restrain humanity, in a way, we should be grateful. But the times have changed, we are no longer the children that sought blindly in our voracious appetite for expansion and knowledge to activate Relay 314, we are now a race tempered in the humbling of our defeat by our senior.

I ask you, the Citadel races, after you have sufficiently humbled and chastised a child for acting out of turn, would you still seek to keep them in a cage, would you still seek to deny them the opportunity to grow and stand beside you? Our species can offer so much to you, while you can in return offer so much to us.

And while you contemplate what I say, I should remind you, not in threat but in sadness, that our beast of possibility goes both ways even today. With the Erta Ale Accords came the birth of an organization that calls itself as Cerberus. Forged from the ashes of humanity's defeat in the Relay 314 War, they seek a blood balance with the Turian Hierarchy for the actions they had taken. I myself, even in my position, can agree with some of what they say, for I have lost several family members to the actions of the Turian Hierarchy directly and indirectly, but I disagree in the demand of a blood balance, it is useless to meet revenge with revenge; it will heal nothing. Unless things are changed, there is no doubt in my mind that Cerberus will continue to grow and the dark beast of our possibility may become uncontrollable and consume the galaxy in the flames of war.

But Cerberus is not the answer, it is the question! What truly is justice?! Who defines what justice is?! Is it the Citadel Council, who state that justice is balance?! Is it Cerberus, which states that justice is revenge?! Or is it the individual, who powers whatever entity they choose to subscribe to?! In many ways, each of us has a noblesse oblige to the next generation in deciding our actions and determining what justice _truly is_. For the decisions we make and the actions we take shall have an impact long past the time we have moved on or passed way.

That is why I am proud to be here today, because for many of you, you have accepted the call to the fulfillment of that noblesse oblige in granting my nation and my species a way to express ourselves directly to you. That is why I am here to announce the opening of the Britannian Embassy here on the Citadel to share with you as the best of all of my people.

Ladies and gentlemen, honored species of all genders, may I introduce Ambassador Euphemia li Britannia, and may we all wish her success in her endeavor to provide you a true insight into what we are truly capable of.

**2168 (11 AH):**

Nothing particularly interesting happens.

**2169 (12 AH):**

All STG assets in the Parnack System go offline. Attempts to contact disappeared assets are met with no success. Upon further investigation, it is discovered the Mass Relay in Parnack has gone offline.

**2170 (13 AH):**

The Britannian colony of Mindoir is attacked by Batarian slavers. Many colonists are killed or captured. The Systems Alliance 2nd Fleet arrives to prevent the Batarians from completing their operations; Jane Shepard is among those rescued. She and her brother are the only surviving members of the family, and while Jane Shepard is adopted by Captain David Anderson, her brother, already living off-world and enrolled in the Britannian Military Academy, remains as loyal citizen of the Empire.

Another human colony, Yandoa, suffers a catastrophic dust-form element zero exposure to its atmosphere with the Turian cruiser Spirit of Taetrus explodes in orbit. Many children suffer birth defects; thirty-biotic children are born.

Biotic training is integrated into normal training by the Systems Alliance.

L3 Biotic implants are developed after L2 implants prove to be dangerous.

The first A-61 Mantis Gunships are produced.

Another of Camelot's test subjects is removed from the project after his body rejects specific implants and genetic modifications. Only one subject remains, a girl of sixteen.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Another one is down, and things are starting to get a bit more complex.

For the time being, it is worthwhile to note that this format is not going to be a common occurrence - it is merely to fill in the blanks for the timeline (a timeline we advise you all to read carefully. It isn't just filler, there are some fairly important things going on in there) and to also establish certain events for usage in the near future. Suffice it to say that things will keep heating up very soon over the next few chapters.

On a different note, we cannot guarantee any precise timeframe for the release of the next chapter. It will be released whenever the time machine next lands. It could be tomorrow, next week, or a century from now. We have no clue. The only thing we can reasonably guarantee is that it won't be out before before this chapter was released. We hope.

Until then, leave us your thoughts.


	4. The Batarian Solution

**Chapter 2**

**The Batarian Solution**

**November 13th, 2170 (13 AH)**

**Mass Relay Indris**

**Indris System, Kite's Nest**

Governor Drothen Pazness had learned from a very young age that showing weakness was a recipe for death, especially so as a member of a powerful family within the Batarian Hegemony. It's what had allowed his family the ability to rise the ranks in only a handful of generations to where he now stood upon the fruits of their labors as the governor of Camala, a fast-growing eezo colony that was prestigious for his family.

But that all came to an end twelve hours ago when an unknown battlefleet came out of the Mass Relay, picking off the picket fleet as it had attempted to engage the hostiles and then just held position there. Attempts to communicate with the homeland had failed and communications to the enemy fleet had been ignored until a few hours ago that they had received a simple message requesting his presence.

Normally he would stand up to it, but this force had destroyed the patrol fleet in less than five minutes, then shut down all outgoing communications and even the Mass Relay, which was thought to be impossible. Faced with the aspect of annihilation of the colony and his family, he chose to meet these unknowns.

Which was why he was now approaching the unknown fleet on a shuttle, his four eyes scanning the ships that his scanners had issues detecting. Now he could see why the defense force had been brushed aside so easily. There were twelve ships in total that he could see, one a dreadnought more massive than anything the they had in their inventory. Backing that ship up was what looked like a carrier, three ships larger than cruisers but smaller than dreadnoughts, and nine lighter ships. They were all of a design he was unfamiliar with, the only identifying marks were the names written in human highlighted on the sides and the emblem emblazoned above the names in a muted gold and off-color red on the sides of each ship.

"Batarian shuttle, adjust your course to the uploaded pathway of you will be fired upon immediately."

The pilot looked up to him and he could only nod, the pilot followed the uploaded flight pattern as Drothen stared again at the massive ship as they flew alongside it, the word "Thunderchild" emblazoned on the side of the dreadnought.

The shuttle proceeded to slip into a cavernous hangar that allowed him a glimpse of several fighters in their slots, which caused him a bit of confusion as all he had known was that dreadnoughts had no fighter wings deployed on them. However, before he could pursue that line of thought the shuttle came to a stop with a soft thump, causing him to discard the pointless information in favor of what he knew came next.

Knowing what was to come next he stepped out of the cockpit without a word to the pilot before coming to the shuttle opening and keyed it, watching it slide open to reveal his 'guard'. Two of them were massive towers of a race that he had never seen before, their eight eyes locked onto him like he was pry, while there were two smaller humanoids with their weapons at rest, and in the middle of all of them was a single man wearing an armored suit that reminded him of a priest.

"Governer Pazness. Follow me," the humanoid figure said brusquely, his tenor voice evidently used to command.

Choosing to keep himself quiet he merely followed after the 'priest' as they exited the hangar and moved into a intraship car, the doors sliding shut and it took off. It didn't seem that long before it opened back up and he was led off into a darkened hallway.

His eyes adjusting to the dim lighting before he was led down the hallway to a massive set of doors, they then whispered open into darkness as the 'priest' stopped.

"Inside."

Now was the time to speak.

"I demand to speak to your commander. Who are you? Why are-"

"Inside."

He was about to continue demanding before he realized that the soldier before him was not going to give him what he sought. With nothing to be gained and recognizing he had no chance of resisting, he entered the room, the door sliding shut, plunging the entire room into darkness.

Not a moment later, across the room, light filtered in from what looked like the stream of a dying star. Set against the background were two figures shadowed by the background, one figure sitting on a two legged chair, the figure's legs crossed in a very human-like gesture. The other figure standing and situated to the left. As he steppe forward he felt himself as the standing figure's eyes that seemed to blaze in the dark, a red sigil inlaid in red, something that seemed to just scream evil to him.

"Welcome Governor," the seated figure spoke, a small orange light lit in the center of the figure's face, before being pulled away and a puff of smoke was let out of the figure's lips. It was then his eyes opened to reveal the same strange eyes and the Governor for a split second felt himself being pulled into them, but then as quickly as it was there, it was gone.

"I demand to know why you have attacked this colony!"

The sitting figure took the lit thing to where his mouth might be, cigarette wasn't it, he had to be human, there was only one species that generally used those carcinogenic sticks.

"Why you ask? Three months ago, the Batarian Hegemony attacked Mindoir, a Britannian colony."

"It was a pirate operation," he responded, of course, that was the party line, but within the Hegemony, piracy was permitted as long as it was done appropriately and the correct recompense was given to the Hegemony. It was a form of outside income for the Hegemony that never seemed to have enough to subsidize its massive expenditures on 'public works', a vague description for what in essence was allowing those within the inner circle to live a life of abject opulence.

"Governor, you don't lie to me, and I won't lie to you. We both know that the Hegemony funds piracy operations in order to pocket additional income and to conduct asymmetrical warfare against the Human Systems Alliance and Britannian Empire. We both know that the Hegemon personally authorized the Mindoir operation because the colony provided a staging point against several pirate bases."

"So this is retaliation," he snarled, unable to believe the audacity of this _two-eyes_, but even as he did that, he felt a flash of terror fly through him. Britannian retaliation policy had always been absolute, they would turn their target into dust with as much firepower as necessary. Three pirate bases had been turned into craters by orbital bombardment. His family was down on the colony.

"If I was going to retaliate Governor I would have already done so," the man stated simply, acid lacing his tone, "unlike your Hegemony, I am not a barbarian. No, I am here to discuss a business proposition, in the Batarian way."

_By the barrel of the gun. But how is he going to do it? I might be part of the outer circle, but I don't have the necessary power to negotiate..._

"Sir, the Batarian QRF just arrived at the mass relay and are attempting passage."

_The QRF_, Drothen thought, before feeling a bit if relief. It was a unit designed solely to deploy to any problem areas in the Hegemony within hours, the fact that they were here meant that his family would be saved, even at the cost of his life.

"Right on time," the man said, causing a chill to run down Drothen's spine, it sounded as if he wanted it to happen this way, "Orange."

"On the bridge, sir."

"Inform the battlegroup it's time, I shall command from the Sanctum. Battleplan Orion."

"As you wish, sir."

The momentary shift in the deck-plating was all the indication for Drothen that the ship was changing course and accelerating.

"Since the Hegemony only understands force, Governer, I intend to make my offer through arms."

"You won't stand against the QRF, they are the best and well-equipped."

"Hm. We'll see then."

The seat then rotated as the star faded away, being replaced with a massive battle map, green icons dotting the scape."

Drothen could only watch as the carrier, _the Bismarck Waldstein_, on the display began spewing out a blizzard of green icons that spread out over the battlefield, heading towards the neutral blue icon of the mass relay. With them the lighter ships also joined in with the fighters.

With rapt attention as he stepped closer to the two, the other one, not he was sure it was a woman watching him with a hint of amusement in her eyes, if he was to believe, it was hard to read two-eyes.

A seat then came up beside the man with the raise of a hand.

"Please Governor, sit, I think you will want to be able to remember this when you discuss it with your superiors."

Stepping closer, he realized the futility of making out their features other than their eyes, it seemed as if some type of dark holographics were destroying their features.

"Mass relay activating three, two, one."

As it reached zero dozens of screens popped up on the display, showing actual cameras of the battlespace around the Mass Relay, suddenly past the relay he could see space lightning, the telltale signatures of a mass relay exit.

The battlescape suddenly showed several red icons, denoting hostile contacts, Batarian contacts.

"Slam the door."

Relief turned to horror as dozens of green icons appeared admist the red icons darting in towards then. On the screen he could see several ships now moving to try and evade the incoming, he could imagine the confusion on the bridge, no one attempted to blockade a Mass Relay like this, the chances of catastrophy were astronomical. Yet the professionality shown through as one of the green icons disappeared, only to be replaced with a massive sphere on the screen reaching out towards the ships around it.

It had to be a lie he thought as his eyes snapped to another screen just in time to see a massive pink globe on the feed. Followed by dozens of others throughout the force.

One of the red icons, identified as the cruiser Henessa blinked several times before going dark along with several smaller icons of light attack ships.

"You got a cruiser," the woman spoke with an amused drawl, "and you were so negative saying you wouldn't get anything of real value in the first strike.

"Quiet witch," the man spoke in irritation, ignoring the fact that he had a witness, "Moloch, release the Jackals."

"Jackals releasing, sir," came a voice different from 'Orange' but Drothen barely noticed it, he was so intent upon the battle before him.

Every single fighter now darted in now, as if the floodgates to hell had been opened, intent on taking advantage of the chaos caused by the mines.

"Frigate and Stalker captains, I want their frigates suppressed. _Tranquility_, stay with the _Waldstein_, _Grace_ and _Serenit_y, echelon formation around the _Thunderchild_, we're moving in, target the cruisers."

_Did he say move in_, Pazness thought as he stared at the two now, _dreadnoughts NEVER moved into a battle, they were always tasked for long-range fire support._

But indeed they were, the plot changing as ships moved, tracked fire darting out from the Batarian battlegroup towards the _Thunderchild_, but nothing was felt through the hull like he had expected.

"_Serenity_, target cruiser five. _Grace_, get cruiser four. Orange, I want the dreadnought to be dust."

"_Persephone_ has gone adrift," the woman stated, allowing everyone to focus on the one icon before it disappeared in an inverted horseshoe, allowing the Governor a small amount of triumph.

"Screw the MACs," the man snarled, "Orange, torch it."

A sextet of beams shot out from the _Thunderchild_ all honing in on the Batarian dreadnought and to Droshen's shock, easily pierced through the dreadnought's kinetic barriers before skewering the ship.

"_Dionysus_, I want that left flank collapsed. Orange, target cruisers one and two, hammerfall."

A new screen then blew up, showing an overhead representation as the _Thunderchild_ split between the cruisers, broadside tracks of MAC fire hammering both ships before dozens of smaller tracks darted out, a combination of missiles and torpedoes finishing both ships off as another inverted horseshoe appeared, a flash of a frigate snapping in half appeared before disappearing again.

The fighting continued raging for another few minutes, but now the battle was no longer in doubt as the last of the Batarian cruisers disappeared under the combined fire of the _Thunderchild_ and Serenity, the _Grace_ had to fall back after a light attack craft had chosen to kamikaze into it, detonating the disruptor torpedoes it carried. The battlecruiser had lost its barriers in that section, the armor stripped by the warps in space-time created by their warheads.

In the end, in exchange for a dreadnought, six cruisers, and several light attack craft, they had lost three frigates, and a fifth of their fighters. It had to be the most one-sided defeat in the history of the Hegemony.

Silence remained in the room for what seemed like an eternity before the man spoke again.

"Now that a demonstration of the goods has been given," the man observed, lighting a new cigarette and taking a drag from it, before standing up from his chair and turning to look at Drothen, "it is time to get down to the business of why I am here. I am here to make a deal with the Batarian Hegemony, what I provide are arms like what you have seen here, resources, and planets to colonize that you have not previously detected. What I ask for in return from you is quite simple."

"And that is, human?"

"Three things, first, you will refrain from attacking anymore Britannian colonies, that is non-negotiable, I will accept limited strikes on Systems Alliance territories, however, up to a certain level."

"You will deny us our culture? Do you understand what you are demanding?"

"I told you Governor, you don't lie to me, I won't lie to you. We both know that the entire "Piracy is our culture" is a crock of shit that use Citadel cultural laws to circumvent standing legalities regarding piracy and slavery in order to make a quick credit chit. Slavery and piracy are black currency used to support your economy. What I offer is a, in the long run, cheaper alternative to the high-risk, low-to-medium reward that you have taken for granted since you have taken to the stars."

"Besides, Governor, I ask that the Hegemony refrain from attacking Britannian colonies and interests, not do away with your traditions and customs. You still have the opportunity to pillage Systems Alliance and other Council races colonies as long as it doesn't interfere with my interests."

_He did have a point, there was that opportunity to continue on their tradition._

"And what if we refuse your deal?"

The room fell silent, only the hum of machinery the indicator that time continued.

"Well then, if you fail to accept the profitable deal that I offer," the man said quietly, gently stubbing out the cigarette, "then this is merely a taste of what is to come, Governor. You have attacked _my _interests and I will protect what is mine. For every colony you raid, I will glass one of yours."

Four eyes blinked at once in shock. Glass an entire colony?! Was he insane? He was willing to declare war upon the Hegemony for a bunch of two-eye colonies.

"You wouldn't. That's a violation of Citadel laws."

"I would. Britannia might not want to wage war upon you, but I have no such restraints. And I will win, maybe not this year, maybe not next year, but the Hegemony _will _f_all_. And not even the Council will care, in fact, I think they might celebrate your demise. What I am offering here before I put away the pen and unsheathe the sword is a way we can mutually benefit."

"So you force us at gunpoint to accept your terms?"

"It is the Batarian way, isn't it?"

_Touché_, Drothen thought settling himself, put off by the threat, but actually believing it. After seeing the display of power to one of the best fleets in the Hegemony there was no way to ignore it.

"I will forward your proposal to the Council. How long will you give us?"

"One month," the man stated simply, "My associate will provide you a complete recording of the events here to corroborate what happened here. I just ask that you be swift in your decision, I am a very busy individual."

"Then I will make them aware the necessity of haste."

"Thank you, Governor, I wish you good luck in enlightening your brethren and look forward to hearing from you in the future."

The door from which he came from slid open causing Drothen to spy the warrior-priest awaiting him.

"There is one more thing," he declared, looking back to the shrouded man, "they will want to know the identity of who they are negotiating with."

The man stood there for a few moments, obviously contemplating and weighing if there was an ulterior motive to his Batarian captive's question.

"Just call me The Illusive Man."

0000000

The doors slid shut again as the man and woman watched the Batarian Governor leave the room. As the hiss of a seal sounded the man's eyes closed as he walked over and bonelessly flopped into the chair, letting out an exhausted sigh.

"I warned you of the exertion of tapping into Geass before your body had fully adjusted."

"Oh, let me log that in shit I already know," he said with a hiss, holding his head in his hands, "maybe next time I'll ask the Batarians nicely not to fuck with my plans and subjects."

"Sarcasm is not your most entertaining feature, Lelouch."

"Shroud off," he snapped, the darkness slipping off their bodies, revealing his sixteen year old body that was just beginning to manifest the fruits of Project Ascension, musculature beginning to replace what had been a scarecrow-thin frame, Geass sigils gone replaced by his violet eyes as he opened his eyes once again, "normalcy."

The screen was replaced by the dying star once again.

Noting that it was time for the stabilizer, she quickly accessed a pouch she always carried on her person to retrieve an injector, taking the time to walk over to Lelouch and gingerly tilted his head to the side.

"Here," she stated simply as she placed the injector right where the jugular would be located, and tapped the button, listening to the faint sound of the device go to work as it injected the agent into her young boss's body, knowing exactly what was taking place as the stabilizer went to work soothing the technology running through his body.

She had told him of the downsides of what was in his body because the technology was not perfected, how his body was not even close to ready for it, but he had stubbornly insisted, he had wanted more power, and he wanted it right now. It wasn't because he was power-hungry though, it was simply because it was necessary for what he intended. So he had suffered as his body adjusted itself and the technology running through his body adjusted him. She could only imagine the proverbial hell that it was as his adolescence was his own enemy.

"It was necessary," he finally grit out, knowing exactly what she was thinking as the feeling of his body being run through with thousands on blades fading slightly, "all warfare is based upon deception C.C. When weak appear strong. That was why I was so theatrical."

"Not to mention you wanted to indoctrinate the good Governor."

"He'll be useful, he just needs to realize the power he actually has makes him a force to be reckoned with when the time comes."

"So you already had a plan for the Batarians?"

"For in five years," he said bitterly, withdrawing his lighter from his pocket, looking at the ornate designs embossed around the initials MvB, "I wouldn't have had to use such force and offer some of the weapons I will have to in order to buy them off."

As he stared at the lighter, it was hard for C.C. to not see the eight-year old boy that she had only met once before her best friend had been murdered. He might have bloomed into the teenager and leader that he was, but to her he was just the little 'Lulu' Marianne wrote to her about.

It reminded her of the first time she had actually met him…

0000000

**_December 5__th__, 5 AH_**

**_Undisclosed Bunker, Military City of Astolat_**

**_Holy Britannian Empire_**

_Marianne vi Britannia was dead, her mind coldly analyzed as she slowly walked down the hallway deep in the underbelly of the city of Astalot, the most powerful military city in the main planet Britannian Empire. It was still hard enough for her to grasp that her best friend and sister-in-all-but-name would no longer pester her with pictures of her children and teasing her about finding a man of her own. Even in the depth of her analytical genius it was unsettling, part of her had wanted to deny the news the second it had reached her, she had demanded a second and then a third confirmation in the vain hope that it was all just a joke being played by her, that she would get a message from Marianne laughing at her reaction, but it was for naught._

_Empress Marianne vi Britannia was truly dead, assassinated in front of her children._

_And so she had boarded a transport back for Earth, her duty explicit, with the death of Empress Mariannne she was required to brief the new Emperor, the boy who she had only seen grow up in pictures lovingly sent by a woman who would no longer be by their side._

_The three day trip could have been completed a lot sooner, but she had needed time to meditate and contemplate what she was going to say to the boy she had only seen once before when she had briefed Marianne on what Project Safehold and Project Ascension was. While it was listed as a decommissioned project by almost everyone, in actuality, Safehold was a success beyond all matters of imagination. They had not only found a planet that was off the Mass Relay system that was remote enough to never be searched for, but they had found something more, an intact Prothean research and development facility on the planet that they had dubbed Avalon. The Protheans were sadly long dead, but their knowledge was now being tapped into with the verve of a man who was dying of thirst finding his first drink in an eternity._

_That was what she was here to do, she recalled as she steeled herself, the guards going over her identification and scanning with wands to make sure there were no instruments on her that could cause their charge harm. They had already lost one Empress, they weren't going to dare lose their Emperor. That done, they stepped aside and keyed the door, allowing it to slide open before motioning her into the room._

_Taking one more breath while adjusting her long lime-green hair, a nervous tic she cursed herself every time she unconsciously did it, she slipped into the room and scanned it._

_To be perfectly honest, she didn't know what exactly to expect, if anything, she had expected to find herself face-to-face with an Emperor who was in mourning, whose not-yet-eight-years-of-age mentality would leave him bereft of any emotional control and angry at the world. It was only the most logical of outcomes for a child, even for a child as smart as Marianne claimed._

_So she was shocked then when she spotted the boy at the head of the table, looking as imperial as his father had been when he had assigned her to lead Project Safehold. In fact, if she would drop her professionalism, he reminded her of a chibi black-haired version of young Charles, the internal laughter quickly died though as she saw the guarded expression and cold eyes that decidedly __**did not **__belong to an eight-year-old._

_Her eyes quickly scanned the rest of the room, taking in Cornelia and Schneizel arrayed to his left and right respectively, while behind Lelouch was Jeremiah Gottwald. No, it was definitely something different than what she expected. If anything, she could swear Lelouch was already in Emperor mode, getting his advisors together to perform their duties in assisting him in deciding on what he needed to do. Absolutely stunning, it appeared that Marianne was right all along._

"_Duchess Chulainn," the boy said as firmly as possible in spite of the high-pitched chirp that belonged to a member of the human race that had not hit puberty yet, "I have been advised by my brother that I needed to clear everything off the schedule that I need to fulfill with the…untimely demise of my mother…in order to meet you. He claims that the information you carry is critical to the continuance of the Empire," his eyes slid to Schneizel for a moment, as if considering his existence, Schneizel's eyes came to his younger sibling in his own measured challenge, satisfied, Lelouch looked back to her, "I do hope he is not proven wrong for the first time in his short but illustrious career."_

_Marianne, what the hell have you been teaching this boy, she thought with a bit of consternation as the idea of 'chibi-Charles" popped back into her head, she took a metaphorical hammer and smashed that thought. He's not even eight and he has __**THAT **__presence. Dammit, she wished she had a pizza right now, the food of the gods would be able to get her head screwed on straight, she was not ready for this._

"_Your Majesty," she spoke, deciding that playing any sort of delaying tactic would be most unwise based upon the boy's expression of supreme control, in other words, he was pissed he was being told to do something he wanted nothing to do with, but was wise enough to mask it, "I am here to conduct a briefing concerning two projects that have been classified at the highest level of the Britannian Empire, it is for the Emperor's Ears only, I must ask that-"  
_

"_No," the boy stated firmly, "I will not dismiss my siblings or my Knight when I will merely tell them about what you briefed me later on. They are my advisors and my kin, I will be quite dependent upon them for the years to come as I lead this nation."_

_Well, that actually makes it easier, she thought as she bowed her head in obedience, "Of course, Your Majesty. May I request the ability to sit, this may take a bit of time to go through."_

_The boy stared at her, analyzing and measuring her with eyes that reminded her so much of Marianne's that it hurt before he merely nodded his head. Yet Cornelia bristled as she took the seat, obviously infuriated by the impropriety of sitting before the Emperor for something like this, and she noted that the Emperor was giving her a look to the back of her head for a split second before refocusing upon her as she finished settling._

_"As you are well aware, in 2148, humanity discovered the Prothean technology cache on Mars, half-answering the age-old question of if we are alone in the universe-"_

_"Yes, yes, we already know this," Cornelia interrupted her, earning a spike of irritation._

_"If you would have let me continue," she stated bluntly, "what I was going to say is that we discovered it two years before we announced it."_

_This caused the room to grow still, the impact of such a statement evident to everyone. If Britannia had access to the cache two years before it was announced then…_

_"Continue," Lelouch spoke, earning a respectful nod from her._

_"What the Systems Alliance nor anyone below the classification level of Emperor's Eyes and Ears are aware of, the project team discovered two additional items, information on a location referred to only as the Memento...and an active Prothean VI, Retribution."_

_This time it seemed like the breath had been sucked out of the room, an active Prothean VI?!_

_"However, the Prothean VI was heavily compromised from the corruption brought on by years of activity, it is highly likely if we had taken two more years it is almost certain that the VI would have been unsalvageable. It took us three years to repair, rebuild, and upgraded the VI to the EVI standard. Once that was completed we discovered that Retribution was to serve as both an advisor and guide to Memento. With this revelation, in 2149, I was made project lead for Project Safehold to be led by Retribution to Memento and ascertain its use for the Empire as a last redoubt in the event that the Empire encountered an existential level threat."_

_"Pardon my interruption," Schneizel spoke up, "but if you were assigned Safehold twelve years ago then you would be what? A teenager? Surely the Emperor would not have tasked such a role..."_

_"As a matter of fact, he did. Before I was assigned to Safehold, I was the director of the Geass Directorate," she replied frostily but with a smirk noting their expression, the Directorate was the special research division that reported only to the Emperor, that gave some gravitas to her, but boy he would be shocked when she revealed Ascension, "your uncle was the one who actually who replaced me. However, back to what I was saying, under the direction of Retribution departed in 2150 and arrived at Memento in 2152."_

_"What we discovered at Memento wasn't just a habitable planet off the Relay network, but it was an intact but inactive Prothean research base designed solely to develop weapons and strategies to defeat a race they referred to as Reapers. Further discussions with Retribution confirmed the entirety of the codex entries in the facility detailing the majority of the war with these Reapers. From this treasure trove I chose, as Project Lead, to begin Project Ascension in 2154. The purpose of this project was to integrate the entirety of the knowledge and technology into military applications. Unfortunately no breakthroughs were achieved that could have made a difference until after the conclusion of the Relay 314 War. My apologies."_

_"So what are these...breakthroughs," the Emperor finally said, a thoughtful expression on his face._

_"Advanced weapons, barrier, and armor technologies, power generation systems, medtech, and Geass."_

"_Geass," Lelouch asked._

_"That is the name that both I and Retribution have bestowed upon this weapon. While it was originally intended for Prothean physiology we were able to engineer it for human consumption, while the first test was an unfortunate failure due to it not being completed and a...compromised scientist, the second test was a resounding success."_

_"You misunderstand me, Duchess," the Emperor stated sharply, "what is Geass?"_

_"If you are familiar with transhumanist theory, then I would describe it as a possible step in our evolution, if you are interested in a tech based evolution that is. Anyways, what happens is that we introduce into the subject reverse-engineered Reaper nanotechnology in order to enhance the subject. Improved musculature, immunity, speed, reflexes, intelligence, regeneration, and so on and so forth. In addition to enhancing the subject, it introduces a side effect that we have yet to figure out, but for some reason, the nanomachines manifest some type of ability in its subject that would best be described as inhuman."_

_"Inhuman? What the hell are you talking about? The last thing we need is more freaks or aliens, Duchess."_

_Leave it to Cornelia's passion to get the best of her, she thought with a sigh, looking at the Emperor's whose expression had now become unreadable. Just how smart is he?_

_Sighing, she looked past him towards the Knight, this was going to hurt, but she needed to make a point here._

"_Knight, are you armed?"_

"_Why are you-"_

"_I asked your Knight a question, Emperor," she replied as brusquely as she could manage, noting Gottwald's expression tighten, good, this will be easy._

"_I am," he replied cautiously, his eyes now locked totally on her, isolating her from the background, like a missile acquiring its target._

_Standing up slowly, everyone's guard snapped up, and judging the distance one more time, she shot right towards the Emperor, hand outstretched reaching for his neck as his eyes widened in surprise._

_But she didn't reach her target, as Jeremiah was already there, gauntlet blade extended and aimed towards her. It connected as she felt it pierce her, the monomolecular blade impossibly sharp, slicing through flesh, bone, and organs like a knife through hot butter._

_Her eyes met the yellow eyes of her 'killer' and she flashed as brilliant a smile even as she felt herself becoming so incredibly weak, her lifeblood flowing out of her as he pushed her into the wall and withdrew the blade, flicking the blood that covered it on the ground before retracting it._

_It shouldn't be too longer, she thought as everything began to go dark, the pain blissfully already gone before she was finally enveloped in darkness._

_Her eyes snapped open as she drew breath, her lungs filling with the much needed oxygen to survive even as the bleariness cleared away, the expressions of those gathered before her all she needed to know that her message was received._

_She knew what they saw, the blood flowing back towards her 'corpse', trekking its way back into her body as the wound had closed, and then her miraculous revival. _

_Taking another moment to regain her bearings, dying and resurrecting always had that issue as her brain finished its 'reboot' of sorts, she shakily got herself back to her feet and dusted herself off to the stunned expressions of the group._

"_The side effects manifest itself in different ways, in the case of Subject M, it was manifested in his ability to be able to read minds of anyone within a five hundred meter radius and up to three hundred meters high. In my case, I am, for lack of any better description, immortal, I cannot die through conventional means."_

_The look on Cornelia's face was priceless now, oh how she wished she had a camera for that, Schneizel's expression was more guarded, yet she could tell he was taken aback, but when her eyes came to rest on the boy Emperor, it wasn't the fact that she had gotten an expression out of him, no, it was the fact that there was no expression evident._

"_Duchess Chulainn, what is the defensive situation of Avalon? What type of resource base are we looking at? What type of military applications are we discussing? Is it possible to use the technology available to create a force that can easily go toe-to-toe with the Turian Hierarchy?"_

_Schneizel and Cornelia both looked at the boy between them, surprised by his questions. But when they looked back at her, they looked grim, as if something had passed between them before she had arrived._

_What am I missing here, she could only think as she walked back and took a seat. _

"_Defensively, Avalon is considered a Class II military planet, we are still arranging defensive emplacements, but we have the luxury of being set in a nebula cluster. Under orders from the late Empress, we have several shipyards in various levels of completion. Currently, the defensive fleet, excluding the Redoubt, is one carrier, three cruisers, and eighteen frigates, though we have begun work on a dreadnought. Resource base is about Sol class. I am unsure as to what military applications you are referring to, but in scale of weaponry, by the time of completion, most of what we have labeled Post-Ascension ships will outclass currently anything projected within the next twenty to thirty years of Council technology growth, including the Salarian Union, by class, infantry-wise, if the technology pans out, we will at least be three generations ahead of existing technologies within the first flight. Hopefully that answers your last question."_

"_And Geass?"_

"_Other than Subject M and myself, I have ordered no further implementations of it until we are able to ascertain both the long-term effects and the reason for the variance in the manifestation of abilities. However, it has been decided that we will move to Stage III of testing as soon as I return and begin experimenting on lesser applications of the nanomachines until such a time that we have a firm grasp of the technology. Current estimates put it at three to four years until we are ready for another major human experiment of the current scale."_

_It was then that Lelouch looked again at his siblings for one more moment, as if deliberating something before he came to his conclusion._

"_Duchess Chulainn, for your contributions to the Empire, I, Lelouch vi Britannia, hereby grant you the noble title of Grand Duchess. However, you will be unable to acknowledge the title and privileges privy to you until I deem it so, but you will be treated as such until such the matter is made public."_

_This was a huge deal she realized, in Britannia there were only 12 Grand Dukes and Duchesses, they were considered a type of council for the Emperor, dominating the various facets of the government and assisting in promoting the beliefs and ideas of the Emperor, to have a thirteenth and secret Grand was nothing she had ever heard of. _

"_When are you due back to Avalon," he asked._

_Blinking a moment she answered, "Two weeks, I came here for the funeral of the Empress."_

"_You better make it a month. Cera Chulainn, you and Avalon have just become a lot more important to both the Holy Britannian Empire and bringing justice to those who killed my mother."_

0000000

She had sworn to Marianne to protect her children, but there were times when it was taxing and near impossible because he was her Emperor.

"You're pushing yourself too hard Lelouch," she said softly, "you can't put everything on your shoulders like this, you will break sooner or later, regardless of all we do to stave it off."

He snorted while shaking his head.

"I'm already in way too deep to be turning back now. I've passed the point of no return. I'll just have to expedite the plan. We'll move on Desolas at the first opportunity."

"Lelouch, just because you have won the right to be the Alpha of the Yahg does not mean your body is ready for battlefield applications, if you do it-"

"I know it's a gamble, but we are now on a deadline C.C. It won't be too long until the Council starts becoming curious and investigate as to why the Batarians have new ships and aren't hounding Britannia. We need to start keeping theml off-balance _now_!"

She bit her lip, recognizing that she wasn't going to win this argument. Damn, Lelouch and his obsession from leading from the front, when he got his mind to it something it was impossible to change it even if your point was unassailable.

God how she wished Project Lazarus was complete instead of still being theory. If it was available she would have used it on the Empress without hesitation so he didn't have to go down this dark path for vengeance. Sadly, she didn't have that option.

Which meant she was going to have to double her efforts on preparing him. Even with a year of acclimating the nanomachines to him his body was unable to firmly tap into the full potential of Geass yet without burning his young body out because it was still changing due to adolescence. To go now, against the Desolas and his Turian extermination group was the height of ludicrous.

Sighing she just walked over and draped herself on him, causing his fierce expression to break into insecurity, she kept a smile to herself, he may be the leader of Cerberus but underneath all of that and the Reaper tech he was still a hormone addled teen. It was fun to tease him.

"If you're going to be stupid I guess I should work you up," she whispered, delighting in the way he shuddered before he broke away from her, turning to glare at her.

"You witch."

"I'm not the one making a big deal of pushing myself before I'm ready. You know perfectly well I will do anything to make sure you succeed, my warlock," she teased using the pet name she had given him years ago, turning towards the exit of the chamber, "I'll go and make the preparations, when you're done bathing in victory up here I'll expect you in the Med Bay."

With that she turned and left him, a smirk gracing her features.

* * *

A/N: And so we have Lelouch's return.

On a side note, in the reviews section quite a few of you have raised the specter of "Where are the Knightmare Frames?". Let us be quite clear why there are no Knightmare Frames at this time. First, if you know the canon of Knightmare Frames, you would know that the only reason that they came to the forefront of warfare in Code Geass was because of the ease of implementation due to the usage of Sakuradite. Previously, the only KMF that existed was the Ganymede, which was powered by a large and inefficient external battery. Without the usage of Sakuradite as a superconducting material, Knightmare Frames just didn't have the oomph necessary to be a gamechanger in the large scheme of things.

What does this overall mean? Well, Knightmare Frame technology (though it was referred to as Mechs in general), never really got past the prototype stage because of the cost and lack of efficacy of such a weapons platform. In addition to this, it was viewed that tanks and light armored vehicles still offered more flexibility and tactical capabilities than a large and clunky mech. With the expansion into space, the discovery of Mass Effect technology, and the focus on space forces, mechs were discontinued, _because there was no application for them in space that made them worth the price_.

Still, if you have paid attention to this chapter, you will know that the possibility of Knightmare Frames is improved because of the technology being developed because of Ascension, in fact, you can say a certain mad scientist with a penchant for pudding has taken up residence there and is working his magic. In addition, there is other things available that I will not go into detail about yet, but let's just say that Sakuradite isn't exactly dead yet.

So please, do not fear, KMFs will more than likely make an appearance before the end of this story. It wouldn't be a Code Geass crossover if there weren't.

Until then, please, leave us your comments and thoughts, reviews are the lifeblood of every author, and it's certainly no different for a triumvirate of authors such as ourselves. Until next time, when we start getting into at least one Mass Effect character...who it is will be a surprise.


	5. The Pendulum Swings

**Chapter 3**

**The Pendulum Swings**

**2171 (14 AH):**

The Batarians protest the Citadel Council's decision to not limit human expansion in the Skyllian Verge, but choose not to close their embassy. STG and Spectre Intelligence pick up rumors of an "Illusive Man" in contact with the Batarian Hegemony from their Batarian sources but are unable to confirm it.

Suzaku Kururugi is fitted BL4C biotic implants, a brand-new Britannian-developed implant that was shared with the Systems Alliance via the "K" Project.

Recordings of secret meetings between Pope Clement XVI and Turian General Myrnem discussing methods of using the Diocese of Rome to push a pro-Turian agenda surfaces. General Victus strips Myrnem of all rank and sends him back to Palaven in shame. His successor, Pope Leo XIV, espouses beliefs more in-line with Cerberus' ideals.

* * *

**2136 Local Time**

**April 7th, 2171 (14 AH)**

**The Academy**

**Pendragon, Holy Britannian Empire**

**Earth, Sol, Local Cluster**

Pain.

That was the only thing his world amounted to as his brain slowly reinitialized, agony gnawing and flaring at the edge of his consciousness. It was a harsh reminder that he was still alive, though a part of him wished he wasn't. What was the purpose of life if he had failed his family?

_And sitting here and whining about it is any better?_ he scoffed at his own traitorous thoughts as he spat out the blood that had settled under his tongue, earning him yet more pain as his body protested even that small action. _Now, why am I like this again?_

Two large mitts wrapped around the front of his clothing and dragged him up and in front of the face of a teen, blood trailing down the right side from a split eyebrow.

"Got anything else to say about that traitor?" the boy spat, spittle hitting his face as he blinked.

_Oh yeah… protecting my sister's honor by cold-cocking the asshole, real brilliant when he has a good twenty kilos on you, John._

He then found himself weightless until he landed back in a heap, his own limbs betraying their weakness as his assailant and his cadre of buddies turned and started walking away, leaving him where he was.

_Lesee here_, Cadet John Shepard thought as he slowly dragged himself over to a wall and drew himself up against it_, bruised ribs, likely light concussion, not to mention bruising wherever else he got me...at least he didn't get my nose._

He snorted at the random thought before wincing again. He chalked it up to the head trauma.

"Cadet Shepard, what are you doing out here so late at night?"

The voice caused his eyes to snap back open even as he internally cursed, because he knew that voice. His physical condition was bad enough, but now the Commandant of the Academy had decided to grace him with her presence.

When Empress Marianne had reorganized the military with the K Project, she hadn't ignored the Knights of the Round, choosing instead to change their purpose. Now, not only was it supposed to fulfill the wishes of and protect the Emperor or Empress, but they also had the added responsibilities of taking part in the administration and overall direction of the military in ways that they previously had not been allowed, their expertise providing additional and welcome input in the process.

The Academy system was no exemption to this rule, with the Knights of the Round taking over both the decision on the curriculum and the administrative duties. Previously, the Knight of Two, Alexander Knight, had been in charge of it, but he had stepped down in order to let the brightest and probably best suited for the role take his place, the Knight of Twelve Monica Kruszewski – who now stood before him, her arms crossed on her chest like a chastising mother.

"Just admiring the stars, Commandant," he replied as carelessly as he could. "It's a nice night."

Blue eyes narrowing in slight irritation as her frown deepened, she sighed before shaking her head and tapping her ear, "I need a medical team to Xander's Observatory, low priority."

Stopping to listen to the response, she focused back upon him.

"Another fight, Cadet?"

He snorted, not caring for the pain lancing through him, he was well and truly damned; the Commandant perfectly aware of what he was doing was a kiss of death to his Academy stay.

Quite frankly, he no longer gave a damn.

"Call it a difference in opinion, my Lady."

"So in other words, attacking anyone that dares to besmirch your familial honor?" she retorted harshly, causing him to flinch.

"Yes ma'am," he said quietly, feeling unnaturally ashamed in spite of his supposed lack of care.

"I didn't hear you Cadet."

"Yes ma'am!"

"And this is now the third fight you've gotten your ass kicked, isn't it?"

"Fourth, ma'am," he corrected, earning a glare from the blond.

"You do realize this will be your third infraction for fighting, correct Cadet?"

Third infraction, expulsion.

"I'm aware."

"You know that you can be expelled."

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Isn't it obvious?" he said, waving his hand in an all-encompassing gesture, as if his sad and solitary existence could be summed in a gesture. Why was she asking? Why did she care?

"Not to me, Cadet. Do you understand what you are throwing away? A full military scholarship for a colonist is rare, let alone coming on a full scholarship and _then_ topping the class. I have several glowing reports of your skills and abilities on record, and you're here throwing it away. What do you think your parents would say?"

"They'd ask me why I wasn't there when the Batarians came to call," he snapped angrily, driving himself to his feet, a wave of dizziness forcing him to brace himself against the walls. "They'd ask me why wasn't I there for my _little sister _when she _fucking needed me_! _They'd ask me why_ _I left them to die!_"

She just stared at him as he shouted before looking at her gloved right hand. "Are you done yet, kid?"

"They are, so why shouldn't I be?"

"Fuck your self-pity," she snapped, stopping him. Satisfied with his silence, she continued, as she started to pull off the glove. "Have you ever seen what a Kishock Harpoon Gun does, Cadet?"

"No?"

She then showed her hand to him, allowing him to see an ugly jagged scar on her hand.

"I have the brother to this thing in my abdomen. They design the spike to pierce through barriers and flesh before coming to a stop within the target. Once you've been impaled by a metre-long metal spike, a resonance generator kicks in and literally starts tearing apart the internal organs of the victim. I got lucky because my hand got in the way. Another few centimeters and the spike would have been deep enough to kill me. That's what a Batarian raid is like, Cadet. Brutal, vicious, and without mercy towards anyone that gets in their way. Hell, it would be merciful to die at their hands instead of becoming a slave; the Batarians love pretty teens for their sex trade. Get them all addicted to red sand and Refrain so they are all nice and compliant. And when they are all used up... I'll let you fill in the rest. The fact of the matter, Cadet, is that Mindoir had three platoons of Knights and a defense fleet and the slavers wiped all of that out. What do you think you could have done?"

"I-"

"Would be dead," she stated with finality. "Face it kid, not even a Knight of the Round could have made a difference. You would have just been another statistic, and if you think that would make your parents happy you're as stupid as you seem to be trying to be."

_And you know that_, his mind whispered, causing him to want to snarl at her that she was wrong just to silence his own traitorous thoughts.

"And what of my sister?" he demanded."If you had granted me leave-"

"It wouldn't have made a difference. You really think the Systems Alliance and the Turians would let a propaganda coup like her and Mindoir out of their hands? How would you react if your parents died before your eyes after you were promised time and again that if something happened to your colony you would be protected? I think you would blame the people that promised to protect you, wouldn't you?"

"I-," he hesitated, closing his eyes in thought. "Yes, I would."

"And now you know how your sister feels," the Knight of Twelve replied. "Hatred and grief are all-consuming things when they are not tempered with rational thought, Cadet. Your sister is doing the only thing she can in protest of what she believes Britannia did wrong."

_Wait. Believes?_

"Believes?" he worded that last thought, staring at her as she placed her glove back on her hand.

"There's always more than one story to every tragedy, Cadet. You just need to look at it from a different perspective. In this case, isn't it curious that it was a Systems Alliance patrol that rescued Mindoir after seventy-two hours instead of a Britannian Quick Reaction Force designed to be anywhere in forty-eight?"

"Anything could have happened," he reasoned, unsure, "a ship's drive core could have failed, anything. There are so many variables that can delay a QRF..."

"Only there wasn't. The QRF was sitting on the Mass Relay that led to Mindoir, getting denied access because they didn't have clearance according the Turian overseer of the Relay."

"WHAT?!"

"The QRF was ready to move into Mindoir less than seventeen hours after the distress call was made, but they were denied by the Turians in order for the Systems Alliance to move in and 'rescue' the colony."

He couldn't believe it. It couldn't be possible, if the Turians did that then why hadn't Britannia protested it?!

"Why? Why didn't we... Why didn't we _say something_?"

"Because we would have lost," she stated simply. "Britannia is not ready to take a stand against the Turians, or the HSA for that matter. If we had pushed the issue the Turians would have shut us down or actually worked up measures to launch an embargo on us. As harsh as it sounds, Mindoir has been sacrificed because we need to bide time for the future. It will not happen tomorrow, but within the next generation or two, Cadet, there will be a reckoning. And it will be _glorious_."

Incandescent rage surged through him, stronger than anything he had felt ever before. Those bastards had deliberately damned his family to their deaths and his sister to her fate simply for political points and pettiness! Did Jane even realize it, or did she not even care?! No, she couldn't have known, and now she was just a propaganda point for them, the girl who threw away her citizenship to join the Systems Alliance because her home 'couldn't protect her'. And Britannia was just to accept it!

He had never considered himself a patriot. He loved his country, yes, but to say he would do anything extreme in Britannia's name was going a little too far. Hell, he was only serving in the military because he didn't want to be a farmer. But this...this was inexcusable! They had to pay. But he couldn't do it alone.

Tamping down his rage he let out a breath he did not realize he had been holding.

"I will see to it that it happens, Commandant," he said quietly and levelly.

"And why should I give you the opportunity? Officially, you're washed out."

"Because I will make Britannia's enemies_ burn_," he hissed, channeling his rage and hate into those very words. "If you give me the opportunity Commandant, I will not let you down. I know what I need to do."

She tilted her head slightly considering him for a moment.

"It would be a waste to lose such a promising student," she drawled before nodding. "Alright. But this is your last chance, and I expect you to be top of the graduating class. Is that clear Cadet?"

"Crystal, ma'am."

The medics were now approaching them as she looked at him a few more moments before turning away.

"A word to the wise. The best revenge is one that is both quiet and long in coming, but also clear and left without doubt of its intention. Hopefully you will take those words to heart in the future."

And then she was gone as John was tended to.

* * *

**2172 (15 AH):**

April 11th: Jane Shepard enlists in the Alliance military with Captain Anderson as a sponsor

July 6th: The colony of Shanxi declares their independence from the Systems Alliance. A pacification fleet under General Desolas Arterius is sortied from Arcturus.

* * *

**0637 Shanxi Local Time**

**July 13th, 2172**

**Chang'an, Capital of Shanxi**

**Shanxi, Theta Cluster, Milky Way**

"Contact."

Tired blue eyes snapped open at the quiet voice that filled her tactical headset as its owner fought herself awake as her tired body protested the movie.

"How many Kim," Kallen Kozuki asked quietly.

"I got brigade strength incoming. Oh God, they have armor support."

A brigade plus armor charging her understrength platoon with an eighteen year old cell commander with orders from the Miracle Worker to hold the position at all costs. Well, it was about time to rejoin her family, she thought with a hint of misery.

It had only been seven days since they had taken back Shanxi from the Turians and declared their independence from the Systems Alliance. They hadn't even had time to make a public address before the Turians had shown up over Shanxi and were landing forces. For the last three days they had been fighting the Turians as the damn dodos had been slowly enclosing the circle. It was only a matter of time before they lost.

But surrender was not an option, no quarter had been given by the Turians, not even to the innocent women and children. She had seen a Turian gun down a child without so much a blink.

No, this was the end.

"Ready up," she declared, "Inoue, get that Havoc launcher up, I want at least one of those bastard's armor gone. Everyone else get into position, this is it."

Her hand tightened over the M-2 Dauntless rifle that was the best rifle they had, for the First Contact War. It just didn't have the punch anymore to be effective.

Peering over her cover she spotted then now.

"Shen, find their commander, when I give the word, I want you to give the bastard a Marianne special."

"You got it, Red."

Almost, she quietly thought as she set herself up to fire, almost time to die.

"Hey Kallen," Kent called out, "bet you I can get more dodos than you."

A laugh broke over the comm. network.

"It'll be a cold day in hell before that happens," she said with a smile.

"That's funny, I think there was a forecast for snow."

"Well then I'll have to take you up on it."

The laughs were good, they were needed, everyone knew what was coming. She could only smile at people she thought if as friends.

"Head's up, here they come. Inoue, Shen, have at 'em."

The whoosh and crack were indicators as out of the rubble her friends fired. The resultant scattering of the dodos as the reactive warhead shredded the armored vehicle and their commander was beheaded.

"Let them have it," she yelled, as she came out from her cover and sighted her rifle an pulled the trigger.

While the Dauntless itself was a decent gun, it was designed as a marksman rifle, heavily dependent on precise semiautomatic fire in order to kill its target. Against soft targets it is a wonder, but against shielded or barriered targets, it was a headache, which was now becoming evident as the Turian she had sighted was able to get into cover before she could finish it off.

"Kent, Yoshida, Sung, suppressive," she barked as she ducked into cover as the Turians began to hammer her position with counterfire, "Shen, any of those bastards with a rank insignia peg them. Inoue flank them."

"Tanks are recovering," Shen commed back as she could see his position shift on her display, he was using the building behind them to reposition to get a better shot, "_oh fuck!"_

The building behind her exploded in the position where Shen was, the tanks had already keyed in his position for counterfire with vicious effect. Shen was dead, she realized as she grit her teeth and grabbed a Turian grenade and tossed it before running to another set of cover.

"Inoue, I need another Havoc," she yelled as she slide behind a thick sheet of metal, her appropriated Turian shield generator expanding then failing as they collapsed just as she got to the new cover, the mass effect propelled rounds dinging against the metal like hellish rain.

"This one's a dud," Inoue screamed in her ear, "I need to grab ano-"

The tanks fired again an explosion wreathed Inoue's position, Kallen resisted the urge to cry out for her best friend as she could only expect the worst.

Then she suddenly found herself weightless as everything seemed to become peaceful as she flew through the air, before the ground rushed up again and she impacted feeling her body protest as she rolled along the ground, everything now ringing.

Everything hurt, she realized as she tried to get her body to move, only to find it not wanting to respond. She closed her eyes only to open them as she felt a hand grab her arm sharply her head lazily lolled to Kent who was now yelling something to her as he kept firing over her shoulder while dragging her.

And then everything was back with a vengeance.

"The Turians are pushing up," Kent's voice sounded, "we need to fall back we need to-"

One of the tanks exploded interrupting his voice, flame mushrooming up into the air like a fireworks spectacle.

Then a massive blur landed on the last tank, the actual tank rocking from the impact as the massive hulk tossed a long cylinder aside, proceeded to reach out with a massive handand ripped off the hatch, before pulling out a massive light machine gun and began shooting into the cabin.

Then another hulk landed right on top of a Turian, the Turian's carapace cracking like a stomped-on cockroach as the hulk gathered itself up, in one hand a shield made of light particles and in another a massive sword as it proceeded to cleave through two Turians with a single swing.

It then let out a roar that sounded like a synthesized version of her brother Naoto's motorcycle backfiring before moving impossibly fast into a group of other Turians that were just now recovering from the sight of the massive beast appearing amongst them, but it was already too late as dark blue began painting the battlefield.

_Just what the hell was that_, as she gaped at the sight of it, only for her to suddenly realize that she was in the shadow of something, her head reflexively looked up at the single individual standing before her.

He was clad all in black, complete with a cape that seemed to flutter in a nonexistent wind, his head was encased in some type of helmet that looked like something the Systems Alliance special ops would use when in null-atmosphere conditions, but the entire faceplate was a dark reflective plate instead just the upper half.

He then stepped forward one more step, reaching up to his right hand with his left and seemed to adjust his glove a small bit, before he began to glow in a red color, what looked like pure red flames flowed off of him and in the air.

He then barked something in a voice similar to the large hulk from before, the hulks suddenly stopping their rampage as they looked up, then without any hesitation started running to the sides as fast as they could, leaving the Turians that weren't shell-shocked completely confused.

One of them had enough time to recognize the suddenly crimson-glowing threat and started firing his rifle towards the newcomer, only to watch the rounds impact uselessly against a hexagonal panel of energy that appeared out of nowhere to intercept it at an angle, the round pitting the ground beside him.

Then suddenly the man's arms cocked back, palms outstretched flat towards the Turians before him, then snapped forward.

Out of those outstretched palms a massive wave of energy shot out much like a tsunami, revealing itself to be a form of biotic shockwave, but where a standard shockwave would be intermittent, this wave was continuous, as it swept up everything in its path, debris, Turians, even the three tanks as if they were children's toys, sweeping them away.

Those that weren't lucky to be killed by the debris suffered a fate much worse as overpressure from the shockwave popped lungs like overfilled balloons, leaving them to die a slow and agonizing death as they drowned in their blood.

What was left was as if a gigantic broom had swooped down and swept everything away as the red flames surrounding the man dissipated and then ceased to be.

_How, how,_ Kallen attempted to grasp what she had just seen. It was obvious that what had just transpired was a display of biotic power, but it was of such an unimaginable magnitude it couldn't be possible, but it was there right in front of her.

The right hand of his shot up and it went through a series of fast motions that made no sense to her, then she realized they were not alone as suddenly Kent stepped away and she felt armored gauntlets catch her and another stepped in front of her before she felt something stabbed into her neck, before all the aches and pains disappeared in an instant and her mind was cleared. It allowed her to take a look at the others. They were all dressed in a type of armor system that while humanoid in shape, seemed light years ahead of what she had ever seen. It almost reminded her of the vids that she had seen of N7s from the First Contact war. Each of the soldiers were colored in a primary white and a muted purple with a faded gold trim to them. On the faceplate was an emblem in the same muted gold that she didn't recognize.

Beside the dark man from before a new man appeared, giving a small bow with his arm crossed across his chest.

"We found the rest of their team, only one of them, Shen, confirmed KIA," came the man who was dressed in something that reminded Kallen of a war priest, though he had a sword in its sheath at his side, "We've also located and made contact with Tohdoh, he has accepted our offer of assistance and will be gathering the civilians for evacuation."

The black clad man nodded.

"In addition, all fronts are reporting massive success for minimal casualties; current status is that we are well below the projected rates. Turian combat efficiency is collapsing and communications efforts from their command has been successfully jammed, Temeraire, Perseus, and Hierophant are finishing the mop-up of Turian fleet assets and are moving to destroy all comm. buoys and sensor networks in system. Mass Relay dormancy protocols have been enacted, it will require an override by the Council to reactivate."

"Continue the plan," the dark man spoke, his voice surprisingly young, but it had a command presence that made Kallen immediately pay attention, "I want all of the evacuation completed in three hours. Where is Desolas?"

"He's thirty klicks from here in a fortified command structure, he has started recalling his forces to consolidate the position for reinforcements. I figured you would wish the honor, Zero."

_Zero_, Kallen thought, _what type of name is that?_

The two lumbering hulks from before came walking up now in front of Zero, allowing her a good look as she got to her feet. They were massive, towering even over Zero by at least a good meter, their heads reminding her of the dinosaurs that she had studied as a child, but the four pairs of eyes defeated that illusion. They then proceeded to kneel in front of him, as Zero began barking and grunting to them, that completed they then got up and ambled off quickly in the direction that the robed figure had described.

"Retask Gilliam and Kensington to air support, I want their armor trashed. Alpha, Bravo, and Gamma teams are to be the muscle of the operation, warn them to stay away from sector D-7, that area is mine. Orange, evac these soldiers-"

"Wait," she cried out, soldiers surging forward to interpose themselves but stopped at a raised hand from Zero, "I want to help."

Zero turned to look at her and she could feel the eyes behind the mask piercing her.

"And what can you honestly do," he asked, a hint of amused curiosity inflected in his tone.

"I can do enough," she grit out, Kent tried to say something but she turned and glared at him, "this is my home, Zero. I want to protect it just like I have until now. You cannot deny me that!"

He stood there for a moment before giving a nod.

"Orange, gear her up. You have five minutes, Red. You wait any longer and I will leave you behind."

"Kent, you get everyone else out of her," she commanded while turning towards her friend who looked concerned and ready to protest, "I'll be fine, but you need to make sure everyone gets out of here. Okay?"

Kent nodded, not able to find the words as he looked at all the armored men around him before reaching over and squeezing her shoulder.

"You just make sure you get back. Naoto would be pissed if something happened to you after this."

"I"ll be fine, go."

0000000

It took her eight minutes to get ready, it seemed that they had problems finding her what they called a "combat skin" that could fit her bust size, but then once they had that problem solved it was merely enough time for her to check over her gear and link into the battlenet. While Zero hadn't vocalized his impatience, he had exuded it in such a way that Kallen had felt it within her bones.

Now she was set as they were now riding shotgun on some kind of what could only be described as an assault skimmer as it moved towards their objective. And throughout it all, she could hear Zero passing out orders and making adjustments on the tactical feed as they went, his hands holding a continuously updating lightmap showing an overhead display of the battlefield as the battle raged. In the distance she could see those orders getting fulfilled as a pair of strike craft dived down, avoiding ground fire and dropped their ordnance on target.

It was exhilarating, seeing all of this happen, to see the Turians getting defeated at their own game. This Cerberus, as Orange referred to them as he fitted her, was the kind of organization that could finally take the fight to the Turians for the last decade of humanity's suffering.

"Stop the vehicle," Zero's voice boomed, both on her headset but also out loud, "Verhees Team, hold position, Gamble Team, with me."

He then let out a series of calls to the brutes in a way that Kallen was starting to realize he was talking in their language by how quickly they reacted. How a human was able to make those sounds were completely beyond her.

The skiff suddenly bounced up as the two aliens, Yahg, from what she could pick up from the Cerberus combat chatter, jumped down and positioned themselves to the front as Zero floated down to the ground, she quickly ambled down after him alongside the aforementioned Gamble Team.

He then turned around and seemed to regard her for a moment before looking to the rest of Gamble and Orange.

"Two klicks," he spoke, now speaking more like he was giving a speech, "Two clicks between us and what has been ten years in the making. A lot of you have been with me since that day, and some of you are new, all I have to say is, the enemy commander is Desolas. You know who he is and what he has done to humanity, the man and his command deserve no quarter to be given. I want the ground to be bathed with Turian blood and I want Desolas prostrate before my feet for judgment. We will not tire, nor will we slow, if any of you do, you will be left behind. Sic Semper Tyrannis."

"All Hail Britannia," the men shouted, even the Yahg rumbled those three words in a mimicing method.

_All Hail Britannia_, _but these are not Britannians…or are they? Who is this Zero,_ she thought as she looked to the man again, _why do they treat him like royalty?_

"Regnants, I want shredders on the enemy position for the next two minutes, then report to Moloch for further fire tasking. Verhees team, provide support for any Turian counter, then proceed with pattern Themistocles-Four."

An affirmative was already given as Zero turned, already beginning to glow red as he lowered his center of gravity.

"Onwards Knights of Cerberus, Desolas should not be kept waiting any further."

_Knights_, Kallen thought in a mixture of shock, but she didn't have time to dwell on it as Zero took off in a sprint, the Yahg bounding ahead of him, but keeping an easy pace with him as light shields flicked in front of them and they covered the front of their bodies, she had to follow, the booms of the Regnants as they began firing the indication that this was now for all the marbles.

0000000

_Acquire. Aim. Shoot. Kill. Acquire. Aim. Shoot. Kill. _It was so easy as that mantra kept repeating in her head as they engaged the Turian's that had desperately tried to entrench themselves to prevent themselves from being overrun until reinforcements that they didn't know would never come could arrive. Instead, what had been a sound and capable defense was shattered as if it were made of wet paper.

The skinsuit that had equipped her with and the rifle, something called the Nuckelavee, or the Nuck as some of the Cerberus men referred to, was incredible. It far surpassed what she had yet to even see from the Turians even. On top of that, the rifle, which used some type of thermal clip system that literally was absorbed by the rifle so there was no material waste, which while it didn't have the nigh-limitless amount of ammunition, it traded that off in that it never overheated and seemed to hit harder. And then there was the fire-select that allowed her four different settings, from semiautomatic, two-round burst, three-round burst, or fully automatic, but when they hit a Turian, they literally stripped the shield away in two or three shots, and the next few shots were usually fatal. If only they had this type of weapon before things would be so much different.

So it had gone on, as they waded through dozens of Turians on the way to the command post, with her taking out Turians as they went and Zero…she didn't even want to think of what Zero was doing. The few times she had a moment to look at him, he was glowing in red as he used biotics to utterly annihilate Turians if he were some kind of untouchable combat mage from a show she watched as a kid. Then there were the Yahg who even seemed more brutal, she had even spotted one actually eating a Turian alive.

From what she could gather, this was going on all over as Cerberus was sweeping away any resistance from the Turians as if they were a bug on an aircar's windshield. To describe it as a slaughter would be too tame, it was annihilation judging by the chatter.

A flanged scream caused her head to snap up as she spotted Zero and a Turian floating in the air, Zero's hand outstretched as if holding him up, then with a flick of the other wrist he launched a warp that slammed right into the Turian's chest burrowing into him, then clenching the fist, the warp's containment field collapsed, the energy that had been used to compress and tear was now allowed to expand, causing in the Turian to literally explode. She could only cringe as dark blue and pieces flew everywhere.

Throughout the entire fight Zero had said nothing, instead just wading through Turians like they were no more than insects to his might, and watching him, she could only agree. Not once had he withdrawn into cover like she had, he had only shifted vectors slightly, or merely shifted position for a split second before being back in the fight. It was terrifying as to how he seemed simply like a juggernaut, every time he took fire hexagonal panels of energy kept appearing and taking the damage as if driven by unconscious thought.

Even Orange seemed to give his master a wide berth, using a flurry of biotic attacks she had not ever seen before and agility that made him nearly impossible to hit. She could only feel a bit of jealousy at how effortlessly he moved among the battlefield while she had to move from over to cover.

And now the Turians were placing up their last line of defense as they all pushed, throwing everything they could at the force they had obviously designated the command unit simply because of Zero's powerful presence. It was then that she noticed that even though Zero seemed to have no problems attacking, he seemed to vary his pattern, as if managing how he reacted based upon the amount of attacks he used and the damage he soaked up.

_No, _she realized with a keen eye, he was managing himself. Something about his abilities were heavily reliant upon some type of balance. And right now he was being pushed by the hammering he was receiving based on how he had stopped and started soaking in the fire in order to allow his men to move forward, he was moving his arms a few times to launch some throws, but other than that, he was acting as a magnet.

Yet something was niggling at the back of her mind, something that she should be remembering. The Turians were acting way too cool at the sight of this overwhelming force, if anything, they seemed more grimly determined. As if they had a plan.

_And if the Turian commander is Desolas…_

It was then that she realized what was about to happen, she had seen enough of the battle patterns of the Turians over the last couple of months of training and combat to have it carved into her bones, the suppressive fire, the flanking maneuvers, even if Zero was an unknown quantity, the Turians were retardedly rigid in their tactical doctrine. Even their best…

_Which meant that there was a Turian with a rocket launcher!_

Her eyes searched through the destroyed landscape for him, she knew he had to be out there lurking, quietly communicating with his fellow Turians to set up the target for an attack. Even with the absurdly hexagonal barriers that Zero seemed to put up, it wouldn't be enough for a missile strike.

Zooming in with the optics she found the missileer but to her horror he was not only too far away, but he was situated behind the burning remains of a gunship, negating her rifle, she was good, but she wasn't that accurate. And he was now positioning for launch.

"Zero, 10 o'clock, 60 meters," she barked as she took off in a sprint, even though knowing that it was pointless as she fired her weapon, the Turian ignoring her as the cover absorbed her shots.

Zero hadn't responded to her warning, he was too busy using his biotics to draw a trio of Turians into a singularity that didn't so much suck them as it rended their flesh from their bodies, Orange was almost a hundred meters on the other side of him and the rest of the group was all over the place. And the Turian was now lining up.

She was going to be too late, there was no way she could position herself in time to save him. She was going to fail, she was going to let the man who was trying to save them die and she was going to watch it happen.

_I'm going to fail again, just like Naoto_, she despaired as her legs ached and her body protested even as she knew it wasn't. The Turian was ready, his claw reaching for the activation stub.

As despair morphed into rage at her weakness it felt as if everything slowed down and then bent all around her, like if she were tugging reality around her like a rubber band growing taut as she felt as if every nerve of hers was filled with energy and on fire at the same time.

And then the rubber band snapped, not even her eyes blinked as everything flashed by her in an instant, she was flying, then she went through the Turian's cover and she felt her body collide into the Turian, the force of her momentum transferred into the target as she came to a stop and the Turian went flying, but not before he had fired.

The missile glanced off of Zero, the explosion wreathing him in fire as he disappeared in it. Kallen could only watch the result of her failure.

* * *

A/N:

We are the very model of a modern, Writing Group  
We've information vegetable, animal, and soup  
We know the Plot before us, and can quote the fights historical  
From Shanxi to Citadel, in order categorical;  
We're very well acquainted, too, with matters mathematical,  
We understand equations, both the simple and quadratical,  
About our story we're teeming with a lot o' news,  
But can't guarantee when it'll be seen by the lot of youse

And so the plot thickens. Leave a review, if you would kindly.


	6. First Steps

**_Chapter 4_**

**_First Steps_**

_The missile glanced off of Zero, the explosion wreathing him in fire as he disappeared in it. Kallen could only watch the result of her failure._

_I failed again_, she thought as she fell to her knees in stunned silence. It was just like Naoto, she had watched him jump on the grenade that would have claimed her life, a smile on his face as he gave her one final look before it detonated.

It was just like when she had found out that her parents had been massacred by the Turian reconnaissance force that had infiltrated their lines, finding the medical station where they had been treating the wounded and protecting anyone who had managed to escape the fighting.

Powerless, weak, futile, those were the very words hammering her as she looked at where Zero had just stood only seconds before. The man that had saved her and given hope to her was gone because she had been unable to save him.

The Turians were lulled now as they seemed to relax, thinking that their greatest enemy had been taken care of.

That was when the smoke began to clear and Zero re-appeared, surrounded in a flickering red barrier, biotics flaring off him like a roaring fire as he slowly raised himself from a crouched position, his hands balled into fists. As he raised up the Turians that were beginning to react to the fact their target wasn't dead began to float into the air; all eleven Turians now completely weightless and unable to fire as Zero finished his ascent.

"_DIE_!"

The Turians then shot down into the ground, making squelching sounds as armor and flesh met ground at bone-shattering speeds, only to raise up again, and be slammed down once more. Those that had survived the first impact were finished off as their shattered remains lay still.

Then Zero dropped back to his knees as Kallen took off towards him, her eyes scanning the surroundings for threats, joy and relief rebounding in her mind even as Orange appeared by Zero's side just as she arrived.

He looked like he was in agony, his body shaking like a leaf as pain seemed to wrack it. His hands were clenching and unclenching robotically even as he breathed himself horse, a soft groan coming coming from the mask as Zero lurched forward, bracing his body against the ground with his hands.

"My Lord," Orange spoke with concern lacing his voice, only for the bottom of Zero's faceplate slide open, allowing Kallen a glimpse of pale white skin and ebony locks. Zero then spat out a large string of blood on the ground. Orange grabbed him, only for Zero to shrug him off, proceeding to launch another globule of spit and blood onto the ground.

"I'm fine," he spoke waveringly before bring his wrist up to his mouth, wiping the blood away and allowing Kallen to see the blood smeared from the wrist to arm with widened eyes.

"You overclocked yourself, you need to go back-"

"I said I'm fine," he snapped angrily, forcing himself back up, the faceplate sliding back into place before Kallen could see his face, "I came here to fulfill a promise Jeremiah, a promise you and I made to her in blood. There is no way in _hell_ you will stop me from fulfilling this."

He then looked at her, and despite the rage and biotic power literally bleeding off him, she stood her ground.

"You're a biotic," he spoke matter-of-factly with no hint of malice, though a hint of curiosity colored his tone.

"Yes," she replied, it was the only thing she could say. It had never manifested itself like this before, though she had always had some limited telekinetic ability. But she hadn't done it for years because Naoto had made her promise. Being a biotic on an HSA colony was a death sentence if the Turians found out about you. There had already been a few manifestations that the Turians had snatched from their families never to be seen again. That was why Naoto hid her all those years since she had first used a biotic throw on him.

"But you don't have any implants... interesting," he continued. "Come, Kallen, we need to finish this."

0000000

General Desolus Arterius could only stare as the icon of the last unit in his order of battle winked out of existence. The implications were readily apparent: in forty minutes three battalions of his best troops had been wiped out along with his entire fleet assets.

It was supposed to be an easy sweep. Come in, wipe out the rebels and the colonists. The rebels shouldn't have stood a chance. There wasn't supposed to be _THIS_.

Who could these newcomers be? They couldn't be the Batarians, they weren't this audacious or well equipped. The Krogan didn't have a fleet. The monkeys didn't have this kind of power. The Salarians weren't this aggressive. It had to be the Asari, they were the only ones with that kind of biotic power and fleet assets. But why in the spirits were they helping the monkeys?!

"General Arterius," his Lieutenant, Tirhus called, looking levelly at his commander, "we have an incoming message from the attackers."

He looked at Tirhus for a moment, so this was it he thought, it was more than likely the enemy commander wanted him alive. There was no way he was going to allow that to happen, but at least he would know the race he was fighting. Maybe he could leave a hint for his brothers to hunt down and avenge him.

"Put them on, Tirhus, let's find out who our enemy is."

Tirhus nodded, tapping a key and the communication opened, however instead of the voice of his attackers, a slow loud marching theme started playing, everyone in the center recognized it immediately as the Turian "March of the Dead", a tune only done at the funeral of Turian soldiers lost in the line of duty.

His head then swiveled to the armored door as a new light began illuminating the room, red energy leaking through the frame.

Impossible! Those are doors designed to absorb an antiarmor penetrator and laugh, Desolas thought with horror.

"Positions," he yelled as the music became even louder, as if trying to burrow into his head.

What happened next was as if out of a horrible nightmare as the entire door was ripped away, the massive door flying away as a single individual stood there; the light to his back causing Desolas and his men to squint.

The figure was then gone, the next thing he knew, the Turian captain of his guard to the right was letting out a scream as the figure stood there holding him up in the air, an arm covered in red biotic energy driven through the Turians chest and heart.

He then tossed the corpse at Tirhus as he disappeared in a mirage of red energy.

"Open fire," Desolas yelled, finding his voice through his terror.

Another Turian then went limp as if his strings were cut, crumpling to the ground, a red hole in his chest from where a warp had nestled itself.

It was then he reappeared, the remaining Turians firing at point-blank range, the only indication that they were doing anything the flickering of a red barrier that seemed to absorbed everything.

An incinerate slammed against the barrier, wreathing the man in flames as a cryo blast followed in from Tirhus, snap-freezing over the target but having no discernible effect.

He then disappeared again, reappearing in front of Tirhus, lightly tapping him on the shoulder.

Tirhus then was surrounded in a crackling black energy that began consuming him, the last thing ever heard from Tirhus was a scream that sounded like it came from the bowels of the abyss before he ceased to be among the living.

He then looked to the last Turian other than Desolas, and swung his arm, a singularity appearing right on top of the Turian, dragging him into miniature black hole before it disappeared again.

He then reappeared in front of Desolas who fell back.

_It's impossible!_ his mind could only repeat over and over as he fired his heavy pistol, rated to stop a Krogan in a full charge, until it overheated in his hands. Yet it didn't make a difference as the red barriers simply flashed everytime he fired, absorbing the shot like he was firing at a dreadnought.

He threw the pistol away and withdrew his combat knife, charging with a warcry only to find himself weightless in the air, then thrown into the wall behind him knocking the air out of him as the man walked up and towered over him.

"Who are you?" he could only ask, helpless now. He couldn't commit suicide, to do so would shame his family, he could only hope that the being before him would fulfill the Turian honor code of having him die in battle.

"To paraphrase the Bard," the figure spoke.

"Hath not a Human eyes? Hath not a Human hands, organs,  
Dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with  
Food, hurt with the same weapons, subject  
To diseases, heal'd by the same means  
Warm'd and cool'd by winter and summer  
As a Turian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed?  
If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us,  
do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?  
If are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that.  
If a Human wrong a Turian, what is his humility?  
Revenge. If a Turian wrong a Human, what should his  
Sufferance be by Turian example? Why, revenge.  
The villainy you teach me, I will execute,  
And it shall go hard but I will better the instruction."

No, it just wasn't possible, Desolas gasped, staring at the figure, there was no way. He was dead.

"You are not him," he growled, "he is long dead."

The figure laughed in a tone that could only be described as malevolence personified.

"Am I now?" he asked, the bottom of the mask split, slipping off to the sides, allowing Desolas to see pale skin and the bottom of ebony locks, before the upper half of it retracted back, up, and over the head to reveal the rest of what lay behind. Violet eyes pierced him in a neutral expression, as if enjoying Desolas being stunned into silence, or infuriated that he stood before him. "Then I think Death owes you a refund."

He then continued as Desolas could find no words to react to the scene before him. It just wasn't physically possible - he had personally gone to inspect the wreckage. His men had recovered genetic material from the debris that matched the boy's signature. So how?!

"Ten years," the man continued, his violet eyes not leaving Desolas, "for ten years I have waited. I warned you in Pendragon I would have my revenge upon those who claimed the life of my mother. Now it is time to begin what you started so long ago."

"And you think that you will get away with all of this, _HUMAN_," he snarled, "the second the Hierarchy discovers what happened here, they will raze Britannia for what you have done."

"Indeed they might," Lelouch said with a chilled smile, "but they won't ever find out. There's a very human saying, the patient hunter always gets the prey. I've been planning this for years, Desolas. I know I won't get caught, because when the Hierarchy gets here, they will find a ghost planet populated only by the dead. You want to know what will happen then? Of course you do, you can't stand the idea of a _human_ being smarter than you. So I guess here comes your education."

He then started glowing red, as he raised his hand up, Desolas feeling weightless as he was brought close to Lelouch, but for the life of him, he could not move, whatever biotic ability the boy was using, it was too strong. It was _impossibly_ strong.

"As soon as the Citadel Council deactivates the dormancy protocol on the mass relay, Admiral Girias will come surging through there with all of his guns ready, only to find that there is nothing left to save. He will then start investigating, and you know what he will find? He will find the debris of your pacification fleet, computers wiped, but that doesn't matter, because they will look at the damage and the types of weapons used and come to the conclusion that the Batarians did it. Considering your past usages of the Batarians for 'on the side deals', the narrative that they will come to the conclusion on is that they finally double-crossed you, as any Batarian would do to a Turian, especially a Turian _middle-man_. You were caught completely flatfooted and in the span of only a few hours, they killed all of you, down to the last man. They then took every single human left on Shanxi and took off with them, how they got out is anybody's guess. The Hierarchy will demand Batarian blood for what happened to you, and the Batarians will, with profound regret, execute several 'pirate' leaders who they will claim were in on it, when in actuality they were the leaders of a group that was trying to challenge the status quo for their own gain. They will then regretfully inform the Primarch that they cannot extradite the human population of Shanxi because those pirates, realizing they had such a hot cargo, sold the entire population over to the Collector's, a race that even the Citadel doesn't like even talking about."

Lelouch smiled menacingly as Desolas tried to struggle out of his biotic grip.

"So what happened here today, comes to a quick and sudden close, the Citadel censures the Batarians for their actions, but choose not to remove them from the Citadel because they have don't need the Batarians going completely off their chain. The Batarians grumble for the next couple of years, but keep their nasal orifices clean, and business goes back to usual. And I stand here as the only one who got what I want. I'll even get you to commit suicide, so the victory will be all the more sweeter."

Desolas barked with laughter, "You humans really are so full of yourselves. You think you could get me to dishonor my family?"

"I know you will," Lelouch responded cooly, killing all of the bravado Desolas had found. "I'll only have to ask. You see Desolas, you were right to fear that humanity would find a hidden planet off the Mass Relay system. In fact, we found one three years before we encountered you. But that is not all we found, oh no, not by a long shot. We found a treasure trove, a platinum mine of Prothean technology and information. But we also found something much, much, more useful. Thanks to the Protheans, we gained access to technology that dates back millions of years as well. Everything we fought with today, Desolas, is the result of that technology... including myself. But probably the most powerful weapon in our arsenal isn't really a weapon at all, at least how you understand it."

It was then that Desolas noted, as he had stared into the Emperor's eyes, that they had _changed_. Gone was the violet, replaced with pinkish hue and, where his pupils should have been, a darker red emblem that resembled an artistic bird in flight. It was the most terrifying thing Desolas had ever seen, because it was in that moment he knew he was staring into the eyes of something far greater than he could ever even dream of becoming.

"Behold Geass, the power of the king." Lelouch declared now in a whisper, his eyes not leaving Desolas's. "With this I can make you do anything I please, and so, I shall."

His voice then rose as he spoke, syllables slamming like nails into a coffin, arm sweeping through the air in a gesture that would be dramatic if it didn't so resembled an executioner's sword. "General Desolas Arterius, I, Lelouch vi Britannia, command you... commit the ultimate affront to Turian honor and take your life, and when you reach the three-headed hellhound that serves as the gatekeeper to hell and our organizational name, tell him I'm sending him three more special guests before I am done."

"YES, YOUR MAJESTY!"

Lelouch then allowed him to the ground and turned as he began to walk away, Desolas now on his hands and knees scrabbled over to where his pistol lay, clawed hands recovering the previously discarded weapon. Once that was done, he sat himself up against the wall, put the gun under his chin, and pulled the trigger.

0000000

The sound of a gunshot broke the silence that had permeated for the last few minutes as Kallen watched on. Several of the men, women, and Yahg all stood outside the command bunker that had hosted General Arterius, waiting expectedly for their leader.

A few moments later, he appeared, the helmet retracted, finally allowing Kallen to see the man that hid behind the mask.

_He can't be no older than I am_, she thought as she saw the weary but satisfied expression as Orange stepped up, his mask retracting away, allowing her a glimpse at the turquoise hair on the back of his head. Lelouch stepped up to him and placed his gauntleted hand on the man's shoulder for a moment with a wan smile on his face, the silence the only thing necessary to exchange what needed to be said.

It then ended as he stepped past Orange, his subordinate pulling behind him as the men and even the Yahg around him dropped into a kneel, a show of respect and fealty for their leader. It was as she stared at him that she realized it was much more than that, it was ingrained into their personality. He then came to a stop in front of her.

Out of all the things she could have said, all the things she could have asked at that time, she only blurted out the most obvious of questions.

"Who are you?"

"That is the million credit question," Zero replied with amusement, "depending on who you ask I am many things. On the battlefield, I am Zero. To the Batarians, I am the Illusive Man. To the Yahg I am The Alpha. But to my friends and subjects, I...am Lelouch vi Britannia, ninety-ninth Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire."

That name wasn't unknown to her, she remembered how when Naoto used to talk about all the injustices the Turians had visited upon humanity, he had always mentioned the vi Britannia family. But they...

"You're dead." _Except he's standing right in front of me. Way to go, Kallen._

He gave a small shrug. "No-one's dead until you find the body. Now, we need to be going, the evacuation should be completed soon, and I think you would like to be rejoined with your comrades."

_Would I?_ she thought, looking around her and at the remains of the Turian forces. Her people had barely dented the Turians and this Cerberus had been able to do what she could have only possibly dream of. If she went back...

"Your organization, what are your goals? It can't simply be revenge."

"Indeed," he responded. "Another one of our goals is to free humanity and allow it to fulfill its destiny on our own terms. Furthermore, Cerberus is to stand guard against a coming threat that would better be explained by showing you. When that threat comes, everything will be in the balance."

It sounded almost too fantastical, but then again, up until three hours ago, she believed defeating the Turians was impossible. She had seen biotic powers of a scale and scope never before encountered at least her memory. So the idea that somewhere out there was something that could cause this organization to defend against them...

"Then let me serve you."

A flicker of surprise flashed across his face for a moment before it turned into a small smile.

"Then kneel."

She looked at him for a moment, hesitating. She knew exactly what he was asking for now, by kneeling she would declare her fealty to him, her life would be his to use and discard as he pleased...

"No."

That flat statement hung in the air for the gathering as heads now snapped up and she could feel the stares, even Lelouch seemed to be taken aback by it.

But instead of anger, he started laughing, surprising her.

"I think we can work something out, then... my Queen."

"Wait? What?"

He then strode by her as a group of shuttles came on final approach.

Queen?! What the hell is that supposed to mean?! Is he saying that he's interested in me like that?! But we just met! It couldn't be that.

"Are you coming?" he asked, his voice carrying over the din of the shuttles engines.

There really wasn't any choice in the matter, so she turned as the rest of Cerberus followed to their own designated shuttles. Only Orange and herself entered the shuttle that carried Zero. She paused to look at him as the door shut.

"About that queen thing. What did you mean by all of that?"

Lelouch stood there for a few moments as they felt the shuttle lift off and begin heading up to space before he finally answered.

"The only one capable of disputing a king is a queen. While a king leads, the queen is the most powerful piece on the chessboard. The fact that you were able to use a full-powered biotic charge without a biotic implant hints at your prowess."

He's comparing me to a chess piece, she thought with a mixture of shock that quickly turned to fury.

"Of course, Kallen," he continued, "maybe when this is all over and I am returned to my throne, we can discuss the role of queen in a more intimate definition."

Her head snapped towards the Emperor, but she only caught his back as he stepped into the cockpit area of the shuttle before the door closed.

A small chuckle brought her back to Orange, who she finally got a good look at his weathered but aristocratic features.

"What's so funny?" she demanded.

"That is the first time I have seen His Majesty show any interest in the fairer sex. There had been a worry among us that he might have tastes of the...politically undesirable kind."

He then shook his head in dismissal before extending a hand, "Jeremiah Gottwald, Knight of Honor to His Imperial Majesty Emperor Lelouch vi Britannia."

She took it in a firm clasp, not one to back down from anyone.

"Kallen Kozuki-Stadtfeld."

For a split second, she felt a sense of weightlessness before it was gone again.

"We just exited the atmosphere," Orang-no, Jeremiah noted, walking over to the wall and tapping a button, "I think you might like to see this."

The wall then came alive with a screen, and Kallen could not help herself from gasping at the display before her.

There were several ships holding in position over Shanxi, every single one of them in what she was coming to figure out were the Cerberus colors of black, white, and gold with a hint of muted purple. But what attracted her attention were the three massive ships that were in the middle of the formation, each releasing swarms upon swarms of shuttles and smaller transport craft in order to fetch the refugees off the surface.

Two of them had to be at least dreadnought size, but even they were dwarfed by the single ship that was in between those two. It reminded her of what she remembered of the Kilimanjaro class Dreadnought, except it was one singular, flat, surface without the massive center superstructure for a spinal mass accelerator cannon. It was easily half again as large as the two smaller ships.

Surrounding those were countless other small ships, clearly civilian-class freights and pleasure cruisers - it seemed that Lelouch had basically gathered every single ship he could find that could possibly take passengers through a mass relay and brought them to Shanxi.

"The carriers Spitfire and Hurricane," Jeremiah spoke, referring to the two similar ships in the centre of the formation, "we needed their heavy lift capability to evacuate Shanxi, but we still had a strike wing on each of them-"

"And the Thunderchild," Lelouch spoke now interrupting Jeremiah, standing in the door with a lit cigarette hanging out of his mouth, "my flagship and the first of the 314-class superdreadnoughts built. Built upon recovered Prothean technology, each ship is a fleet unto itself."

He then took a deep inhale closing his eyes as he held it in, before letting it out slowly.

"We'll be landing on her shortly, from there, Jeremiah, take Kallen to get checked out by Cera, I think she will be interested in Miss Kozuki here."

Before Kallen could ask as to why she needed to be checked out however, she was interrupted by a new disturbance.

"My apologies for interrupting you Your Highness," a new voice sounded in the shuttle as a man appeared in the compartment, blue light making up his features. Even though he was made of it, he appeared to be wearing a business suit, his perfectly styled hair and cigarette held between thumb and forefinger his defining features, "you have a transmission coming in from Avalon."

"It's no problem, Jack," Lelouch said with a wave, the lit end of his cigarette like a small firefly in the compartment, "Kallen, this is Jack, our Enhanced VI. For battle purposes he goes by the name Moloch. Jack, meet Kallen."

"A pleasure," the VI said before looking back to Lelouch, "should I put it through?"

"Go on ahead."

"Patching it through," the EVI then disappeared as a new screen popped a teenage girl with sandy brown hair sitting behind a desk filled the screen, her violet eyes locked on the screen.

"There you are Lelouch, I was wondering how- LELOUCH VI BRITANNIA WHAT IS THAT IN YOUR MOUTH?!"

Lelouch, who was in mid inhalation began choking, rapidly working to stub out the cigarette on the metal of the shuttle while looking sheepishly at his younger sister.

"Nothing, Nunnally," he lied, trying to look as innocent as possible but failing miserably. If it wasn't such an awkward moment, it would be funny to Kallen, but looking between the two siblings, she knew that if she said something it would not end well for her, "what did you want to check in on me for?"

Giving a cold stare at her older brother for a few moments, she finally spoke again.

"How many times have I told you Lelouch to stop doing that disgusting habit, just because you don't have to worry about all the negative effects from it doesn't make it a good thing. It's disgusting and ungentlemanly, how are you going get a girlfriend with that dirty habit?"

"Yes, moooom," Lelouch said under his breath while rolling his eyes.

"What was that," she demanded, a bit of anger seeping into her tone, "I didn't hear you Lelouch, would you mind repeating that for me?"

"No."

"Good. Just because Mother did it in her youth doesn't make it cool or anything," Nunnally continued matter-of-factly, "Jeremiah, I am disappointed that you can't keep my brother from partaking in that dirty habit. How many times have I told you you're allowed to confiscate his supply?."

"Not enough it seems, Your Highness," Jeremiah replied nervously but with a hint of a smile. It was obvious to Kallen he was just trying to survive the storm. "But it is difficult to control His Majesty when he puts his mind to it."

"I'll remember to remind Sayoko that you said that when I see her," the young Princess said, and Jeremiah paled slightly. "Now, moving on. Jack's informed me you are finishing the evacuation of Shanxi."

"Desolas is dead, if that is what you are asking," he responded quickly and bitterly. "It is as we discussed."

It was this time that Nunnally's expression fell, though it was evident it wasn't because of Desolas. Kallen knew that expression from her own when she remembered Naoto. It was one of lost love.

"I see," she said carefully, "I'll make sure to pass word to Sayoko on the success, I am sure she will be relieved. I wish to ask Lelouch, so I can prepare, how many refugees from Shanxi will we be welcoming?"

"Early estimates are that we maybe were able to recover half, maybe a bit more. Tohdoh was a lot more efficient in protecting the colonists than our projections."

"I see," she said quietly, Kallen couldn't help but sharing in the young teen's sadness. There had been almost a million people on Shanxi before the rebellion. Even with the casualties initially, that meant that Desolas was responsible for hundreds of thousands of dead.

"We did the best we could, Nunnally," Lelouch replied, trying to console his sister, "we can't be everywhere and know everything. We're only lucky we heard about Shanxi in time."

"I know. It's just…," she shook her head, before focusing on the newcomer in the feed. "And who is this?"

"Kallen Kozuki-Stadtfeld."

"Lelouch, she can talk, can't she?" A small growl came from the younger sibling, causing Lelouch to hesitate. Nunnally then refocused on Kallen with a faint smile. "So, Kallen, you must be my future sister-in-law."

_What?_

"Nunnally, I don't mean-"

"Oh Lelouch," she said with a giggle, "I'm just kidding."

"But that's not fair to Kallen that you suggest such things."

"I actually think she likes the idea, Lelouch, she's blushing."

_Am I really_, Kallen thought in a panic as she tried to check herself, causing Lelouch to snap his head over in surprise.

"HAH, made you look, big brother. Don't lie, you actually find her attractive!"

"Nunnally, this isn't the time and place for-"

Kallen could only sigh, tuning the discussion out. She was thankful that what the Princess had said wasn't true, but now she was wondering if staying with her friends would have been a better idea.

After all, it seemed just a little bit less insane…

* * *

**Unknown Time**

**August 16th, 2172**

**Unknown Location**

**Unknown Location**

"What the spirits do you mean the matter is closed," Saren snarled staring at the holographic representation of General Sparatus, "General, you and I both know that the Batarians are incapable of this type of operation. Why would they waste their time on a human colony deep in Systems Alliance territory?"

"And who would," Sparatus asked, a sarcastic edge in his flanging tone, "ahhh yes, the humans, somehow they have been able to create a fleet that overpowers our own without us knowing and have figured out how to deactivate a mass relay. We have dismissed that theory."

Saren stared at the General as he made air-quotes around "the humans", it just wasn't possible that they would just dismiss these claims. There was only one species that would dare to try to engage the Turian Hierarchy in anything. Even the Batarians knew when to keep their noses out of Turian matters, so why was the Hierarchy ignoring this. The Batarians could not have possibly done any of this, they were nothing more than backwater slavers with ships that were just a step above those damned suit-Varren Quarians,

"But what of the matter that Arterius discussed about the Britannian Empire's economic numbers? Surely you cannot ignore the fact that there is an outside income coming in to them."

"Yes and no," Sparatus replied, "General Victus has approached the Britannians about this and they have admitted that they have become heavily involved with the Terminus Systems and investments in Ilium. We have cross-checked them with the Asari and they have admitted that there are some shadow organizations that are more than likely Britannian proxies. That matter is likewise closed."

"Respectfully, General, my family has suffered a dishonor because of this entire issue, there is no way the Batarians would be doing this. The Britannian Empire for all we could know is this Cerberus that the Citadel keeps harping about."

"Again, there is no evidence that the Britannian Empire has any involvement with the Shanxi matter, Saren. Nor is there any evidence involvement between the Britannian Empire and this Cerberus organization, in spite of your accusations. As for the Batarians, how many times have the Batarians ever admitted that they were involved in an incident of this scale? The fact of the matter is they have admitted to being responsible for what happened at Shanxi. They have also closed the matter of these pirates by punishing them for their actions. As to the human population, they have saved us the paperwork and cost of having to kill them all. Now, I have only taken this call from you because Desolas was a good friend of mine, but I will not brook anymore discussion about how the Humans, as much as we hate them, have been able to pull something that only the Spirits could be capable of. I know you are in grief over your brother's actions, but they were his actions, to commit suicide in the face of the enemy is dishonorable and disgusting to any of us and your family will just have to suffer the results of that foolish decision. Now, is there anything else, Spectre Saren?"

"No sir," he responded, knowing he was going to get nowhere else, Sparatus had been his only inroad to the inner council of the Primarch and it was safe to say that it was a dead end to change their opinion, "than you General for honoring me with your time. I will not forget this."

"Make sure you don't," he replied, before cutting the link, the suddenness of it caused Saren to snap as he brought his gauntleted display down on the console, causing it to crumple, spark, and then die as he looked for something else to destroy but stopped, recognizing his fury wasn't going to gain him anything more.

Spirits-damned fools all of them! Why couldn't they see that the humans were behind all of this?! He didn't know how or when they achieved it, but they were the ones responsible for his brother's death, there was no doubt in his mind.

But neither the Council or the Primarch had the fortitude to actually take a stand. They wouldn't dare threaten the upstart Humans now that that damned Schneizel and Victus were undermining everything his brother had done. No, there was too much money to be lost in all of this for anyone to do anything.

Fine then, if they were not going to do anything then he would! The best hunter was the one who waited - he couldn't do anything at the moment, but that didn't mean he was helpless.

Edan Had'dah had found something according to his sources. Something big. Maybe it was time to pay a visit to that Batarian fop and get what was rightfully his after sparing him...

* * *

**3:43 Arcturus Local Time**

**November 3rd, 2172**

**Arcturus Academy**

**Arcturus Stream**

**"You BITCH."**

Red hair flew as eighteen year old Jane Shepard ducked under the fist of her assailants, green eyes flashing as she drove her own fist into her assailants chest, driving the wind out of his lungs as she quickly backed off, leaning backwards to dodge another fist. Taking advantage of her new attacker's momentum and exposure to grab his arm and yank him into her knee. She then tossed him aside as she stepped back scanning the rest of the shower.

This had been going on for months now, ever since Sergeant Tylinian had made vocal his disdain for "Britannian women", which, because of the way the training program had been set up, placed a bullseye on her because it allowed room for favors to be given by the training staff to the cadets if they could fulfill a specific want. In this case, push her out of the Academy.

Well, they weren't going to get that, she had made that clear from the beginning. So after a time it had shifted over to physically attacking her in places where they couldn't get in trouble with the training staff, which in this case, was the showers. Because of the discomfort of steam and water, the Turians refused to enter, providing the perfect place for there to be "no witnesses".

Her jade eyes scanned the new threats as the two men were gathering themselves back up, the water dropping off her nude form as she kept in a combat stance. The new threat came from her left as one of the female cadets now joined in, jabbing short with her left before swinging with her right, Jane watched the move with her eyes as she shifted her center mass and head to avoid the strikes, her own hand driven into the extended elbow stunning it before she grabbed a handful of breast and dug her fingers into it, the cadet's expression wincing before she was tossed aside and Shepard danced through her, not even watching as the woman connected with the wall with the meaty sound of flesh meeting tile.

Large hands then looped underneath her arms, lifting her up, but she quickly reacted by snapping her head back, getting rewarded with the sound of bone crunching and a muffled scream before she then used her head to drive herself down and towards the ground, only for her feet to slip on the wet tile as the water continued to come through the shower heads, she flopped to her chest and took a fierce kick to the stomach, only a quick shift of her mass avoided a crippling blow, but her ribs now protested as she rolled with the strike, fighting herself back to the feet, just in time to avoid a haymaker and cheap shot her male attacker where it really mattered, a yelp being ripped from his lips before she struck him in the jaw.

There were six attackers now, counting out the one she had just disabled, the woman from before was back up to her feet in a bit of a daze, one of her friends joining in, and now there were four guys. As soon as the fighting had started, the showers had cleared out, it was almost scripted now, and like the script, she glanced up past the gathering at the shower entrance, another pair green eyes met hers, her audience was still here.

She then snapped her attention back to the gathering, they had obviously had enough time to recover and gain their nerve, if they all attacked her at once there was no chance that she would win this and would probably end up getting injured in the process or worse. So if defense was out of the question, her feet dug in before in an explosion of agility that seemed to mock the slippery floors, she charged forward, driving an open palm strike into the sternum of the woman, knocking her back and watching her slip and hit her head, before dropping down in a crouch to avoid her next attacker, her leg shooting out and striking his knee, causing it to lose its set and the man landed on his ass. She then scampered out-of-the-way and dove back in at once to a new place to attack, focusing on the surgical violence of the combat that her sponsor, David Anderson, had ingrained in her, four short jabs striking the woman in succession before she ducked and spun around, hitting the pressure point on the back of her knee and causing her leg to flop out from underneath her. She then brought herself up just in time to see stars as a fist collided with her jaw, causing her to dazedly back off, only to be rewarded with a quick blow to the stomach, again she avoided that critical strike by shifting her mass, but it still hit those already bruised ribs.

Then she was thrown into the wall of the shower, she just avoided the back of her head hitting the tile and hurting her further, but her neck protested the strain of avoiding the whiplash. She then quickly sidestepped, grabbed an arm, and tossed another of the men on his back before driving her fist into his stomach.

She then looked at the three that were left backing off now, taking stock of their compatriots as she spat out the blood compliments of her lacerated tongue, taking a spare moment to watch the blood mix with the water and then go into the drain. Looking at them, she smiled, knowing full well how terrifying she looked with the blood staining her teeth.

"That all you got," she asked in challenge, moving towards them even as they backed off, "You got eight people this time and you still can't beat a Britannian girl. If it wasn't so sad, it'd be a comedy."

She then charged forward, intent on not letting them reorganize.

_Let's see, Asari, Drell, or Turian_. _Drell will work_, she thought flowed her body past the first strike, as if her body was on the water, her hand sliding up his arm before being driven into his armpit, she then pivoted and avoided the other woman's attack, an open palm to the side of the head driving her away before she then slid down and grabbed the leg and pulled, the woman being driven off-balance as Shepard raised herself up before striking right in the base of the spine while spinning her into the first victim of the new onslaught, the two falling in a tangle of limbs.

Her eyes then tracked the last attackers fist as it just lightly scraped by her check, she then chose to before shaping her hand like a claw and driving the knuckles into the exposed kidney, and like a choreographed dancer she slid behind him before driving her open foot into the back of his knee, causing him to stumble forward. Not letting him recover, she dug her leg in and pushed off, following him as she grabbed him by the back of the hair and yanked him up and then grabbed him by his most intimate spot.

"Now listen here," she hissed into his ear, "are you listening? Nod yes."

The man, it was Ramirez, wasn't it, nodded.

"Good boy," she said, "I want you to make it clear to all the cadets I'm getting really fucking _tired_ of having to defend myself every week because one of you wants to earn brownie points with the Sarge, so here's what's going to happen. You pass the word I'm hands off, or the next time we have our shower conversation, I will deprive you of any reason to ever have children," her hand tightened harder on his anatomy, driving home her point, "understood? Nod yes."

Ramirez nodded, and she then tossed him down.

"Good," she finished before going over to grab her towel and wrapped it around her chest, her eyes meeting with those of the one that had watched the entire engagement before she slipped by.

The entire affair behind her, she let out a light sigh after making sure no one wad followed as she walked to her locker, pressing her head against it after she arrived as she fought a wave of dizziness and soreness.

Eight was starting to push even her limits, the nicks and bruises starting to mount. She was only lucky that this time they weren't working together. She wasn't so sure about the next time. Letting her eyes close on the cool metal of her locker she had to wonder why exactly she was even here. Even Anderson had warned her it would be hell for her as a Britannian in the HSA, even with all the talk about how the military was open to anyone of any nationality or creed, there was a special kind of animosity towards Britannia since its secession, with anyone even suspected of being a Britannian being hazed into quitting. If it hadn't been for why she was here, she would have probably dropped out. But if she did, there was no way she could prevent what had happened to her and her family at Mindoir.

Forcing her eyes open before she would let that memory come back, she felt the chill of the air starting to get to her body, goosebumps forming on her flesh as she quickly worked to dry herself off before opening up her locker after keying in the combination.

"_Fuck_," she dropped as she stared at the contents of her locker, or rather lack thereof. Her clothing for the evening lessons were gone, the tunic, the undergarments, _everything_. Fighting down the surge of rage she glanced at the clock on the wall, noting that she only had eight minutes before her class on advanced infantry tactics, it would take her six minutes at full sprint to get to her room, another three minutes to get into her backup uniform, and then another four minutes to run to class. She was going to be late, which meant Captain Vakarian was going to grill her. Maybe she could do well enough today that he would ignore her…God she hoped so.

Wrapping herself up as well as she could with the towel so she could make the sprint to her room, she left the locker room and began to sprint, quickly avoiding some of the other cadets that were moving through the halls as she darted in and out of them. She then came turning around the corner and ran right into a wall of armor, nearly causing her to topple over.

_It just couldn't get any worse, _she thought as her eyes locked with the Turian solely responsible for her troubles, Master Sergeant Inim Tylinian.

"Shepard, you are out of uniform," he observed with a hint of wryness in his tone.

"My apologies, sir, but my clothing was appropriated from-"

"Stand at attention," the Sergeant barked, she had no choice as she followed his orders as she came to attention, her eyes looking straight ahead. Cadets began gathering to see what the commotion was about.

"Cadet, do you realize you are disrespecting this fine academy with your blatant disregard to the uniform code."

Her eyes hardened as she put the pieces together. It was too perfect him being exactly where she would have to run through to get to her backup uniform, only the instructors had access to the cadet lockers...

A smart strike on the side of her head snapped her back to the smug Turian bastard.

"Are you listening to me Cadet?"

"Yes sir, I believe that I am disrespecting the uniform code, sir."

That threw him for a loop, causing her to internally smile at the win, seeing the asshole at a loss was always its own reward.

"You think you're a smartass Cadet?"

"No, sir, I am merely agreeing with you, sir."

"Then you won't disagree with me when I do this, Cadet."

He then reached and tore her towel away, yanking her forward only to open her up to a backhand to the face, leaving her to taste blood in her mouth again, it was fast becoming the tune of the day.

"I said stand at attention, Cadet."

She snapped back at attention even though without the towel she was bare to everyone to see. It took everything for her not to snap at the Sergeant, but if she did then she was done. The Turians just had too much power, if they struck you, no matter the reason, you could not strike back, 'instilling discipline' they referred to it as, to her it was nothing more than common bullying.

"Disgusting Cadet, and you're the top of your class," the Turian continued, beginning to pace, "that says something about your class if you are the best."

All she could do was endure it as she kept at attention even as she felt him move behind her, everyone's stare burning into her as she left nothing to mind in front of so many people.

"You know what Cadet, I think you would be a good example of what happens when you violate the uniform code. Maybe if we have you stand here the rest of the day, we can have a little lesson what will happen when-"

"Sergeant," a new voice sounded, cutting off the Turian from whatever he was going to say.

"What is it Cadet," he growled, obviously irritated at being interrupted, "oh…it's you. What do you want?"

"I think you have made your point, sir. However, if you had allowed Cadet Shepard to explain herself, she would have informed you that her uniform got stolen by another cadet while she was busy being accosted in the showers."

"Get to the point, Cadet, you're testing my patience."

"I don't believe you would enjoy having a formal complaint issued for your…overzealous conduct in the training of our Cadets, now would you? After all, you are here on loan and can have your...bonus revoked."

She couldn't see who was coming to her defense, he was situated behind her somewhere, much like the Sergeant, all she knew was that she recognized the voice, though she couldn't put her finger on it.

"Are you threatening me Cadet?"

"No, sir, I am not, I am only reminding you of the strategic position you find yourself in, sir."

Another growl sounded, this time the Sergeant was busy fighting back his temper from flaring by the sounds of it.

"If you weren't who you were I would flay you right now…Whatever, carry on, all cadets back to your duties."

She then heard the sound of his footsteps as he stomped off, more than likely to find another victim to let his irritation out upon.

It was then she saw her savior as he slipped in front of her vision. It was the same man from before that had watched her in the showers.

"I apologize for all that, I wasn't aware that your uniform was taken until I came across a discussion between some of the other cadets discussing where to discard it. If I had known…"

"Why are you even helping me," she demanded as she picked up her towel and wrapped it around herself, again trying to put a name to the face, curly brown hair, green eyes, a mixture of Japanese and…Britannian heritage in his features, why did it seem so familiar, "you were doing a good job standing around while I was fighting."

"And would my intervention have done anything for you," he asked curiously.

"It would have made everything easier."

"That's not what I'm asking Shepard," he replied with a little passion leaking into his tone, "do you think you would have accepted my help? Considering your lone wolf behavior I find it unlikely."

"I-," she then cut herself off, because she realized that he probably had a point from his perspective, but then again, she had good reason to not depend upon anyone else for assistance. No one had ever attempted to reach out to her because of her heritage, "no, I wouldn't have."

He then placed on her chest her uniform, causing her eyes to widen slightly at the gesture.

"Just because you can go it alone doesn't mean you should," he said, "sooner or later you will be in a position where you need will friends and allies to assist you."

He then nodded his head over to a door, "the classroom over there is empty at the moment. I'll guard the door while you change."

Nodding herself, she took the invitation and slipped into the classroom, taking a quick look around before quickly getting into her uniform. Even as she fitted over her clothing, his words got to her, the matter was that she had nearly two more years of this before she could graduate, and if they kept coming after her in spite of her warnings, they would get her.

She winced as she felt her ribs protest as she fitted the rest of her uniform and buttoned it up.

He was right dammit, as much as she didn't want to admit it. There was no way she could keep on going like this and she wasn't going to fail in her promise to prevent another Mindoir. Which meant she was going to have to adapt, she thought with a grinding her teeth with a huff.

Reaching for the door panel she opened it find the man still standing to the side of the door eyes still scanning for anyone wanting to get into the classroom. She had honestly expected him to have gone by now.

"Thank you," she said, as he straightened up from his leaning position, a smile crossing his features as he brightened up.

"Think nothing of it," he said.

It was now that she took the time to take a real good look at her assistance. Other than the physical and lean features he carried, he was dressed in an Academy uniform just like herself, only with a yellow stripe going from his shoulder to his chest, signifying him as a biotic. It was actually surprising that a biotic would involve himself in the matters of 'normals'. It was a bit of an unsaid rule in the Academy that the biotics kept to themselves.

"Jane Shepard," she declared, holding out a hand to him. He then took the offered hand in a firm clasp.

"Suzaku Kururugi."

She paused with an eyebrow arched, peering at him a bit harder.

"THE Suzaku Kururugi?"

A faint blush colored his features as he nodded.

Well, that was something different. Almost everyone in the Systems Alliance knew of the eldest son of Prime Minister Kururugi, he was a bit of a minor celebrity considering that during a live broadcast, then eight-year-old Suzaku Kururugi used his biotic powers to push his father out of the way of an assassin's bullet from across the room.

_Interesting_, she thought as she released his hand, "It's not often that you meet a minor celebrity."

There was a flash of danger in his eye as his jaw set.

"I'm not a hero, I just did what I had to."

_And not one to enjoy the limelight, that's definitely different._

"Well, it's nice meeting you, Suzaku, but I need to get to class."

She then turned away and started headed in the direction where her classroom was.

"Wait."

She then paused and turned around to him.

"Captain Vakarian cancelled his class today," Suzaku said carefully, "there was a priority message from Palaven about an hour ago. He has been in a conference with Palaven since."

Well, that was a relief. To avoid facing Captain Vakarian for being tardy was like dodging a bullet. While he was a fair Turian and was a great teacher, he was also unforgiving and a bit of a hard-ass when he was inconvenienced. So to avoid having to deal with his ire, deserved or not, gave her some hope for the day to maybe improve.

"Well, I guess that solves one problem," she said with a genuine smile.

He returned the smile himself.

"Jane," he said carefully, as if unsure of himself, "what would you say to getting something to eat?"

Her eyes darted to the clock, checking the time for a moment before refocusing on him, trying to figure out his intentions. It was a perfectly innocent question, but she had learned that there was nothing ever innocent to anyone's questions, everyone had an agenda.

_But,_ she thought as she looked him over, _there seems to possibly be an exception to this rule._

"Just so we understand there's nothing to this, Suzaku."

"I wouldn't think anything of it," he said with that smile back again, it was nice, she had to admit, "I'm just glad you don't treat me like most of the people."

"And how do they treat you?"

The smile faltered, "Like a celebrity," he replied tersely.

"Well then, Suzaku," she said, "I'll make sure not to treat you that way, only if you promise not to think too much of this."

"Oh, I wouldn't do that. Just think of this as an introduction."

"I think we can work with that," she replied, smiling.

What neither could have known at that time was how their meeting would have drastic consequences for the galaxy in the future.

* * *

A/N:

There once lived a group with a Zombie defense plan;  
They loaded their ammo and had a gun for each man.  
They wore tactical vests packed with gear,  
ready for combat, for anything, they fear.  
Then they found the key, to prevent the cataclysm.  
All they had to do was make the decison,  
To release a new chapter  
So all could live happily ever after.  
The problem they found  
For all around  
Was the Question of when?  
So when we find out; it'll be released then.

And so begins Kallen's journey into the world of Lelouch - just where is it going to go? What are Lelouch's abilities and what is that red energy he seems to be throwing out at will? Answers need to be found, but not in this chapter.

Furthermore, we finally introduce Jane Shepard and Suzaku as both Alliance members. This is not going to be an all-Britannia show ladies and gentlemen, the Systems Alliance, for all of its issues, does have some good people and factors to it, even if it is being controlled by corrupt and ill-intentioned Turians. And for the record, no, we are not shipping FemShep and Suzaku, so sink that ship immediately.

On a side note, within the next couple of weeks we will be taking a short hiatus. The purpose of this hiatus is to allow us all the opportunity to put some time into our other projects, take a breather, and to prepare for the larger events like the Skyllian Blitz, Torfan, and other major incidences before the events of Mass Effect 1. The break should be no more than a month. We hope you understand.

Other than that, we hope you have enjoyed the read and will leave us your input on the story so far.

Til next time.


	7. The Trinity Rising

**Chapter 5**

**The Trinity Rising**

**2173 (16 AH):**

More unidentified ship sightings occur in several sectors. One merchant captain claims encountering a ship that dwarfs the Destiny Ascension. This claim is dismissed as there is no visual recording of the ship in the captain's records.

* * *

**1134 Local Time**

**August 28th, 2173**

**Dinas Emrys**

**Avalon, ****_CLASSIFIED_**

Kallen flopped to the ground in sheer exhaustion, body aching and protesting movement every place, her body soaked in sweat as she panted for breath.

"Again," a firm voice commanded her, causing her to groan as she brought her head up to glare at unassuming man who looked at her with an arched eyebrow of amusement as he stood there.

_Unassuming_, she thought caustically, right. Calling the Knight of Two unassuming is like saying Lucifer was interested in your soul's salvation, she had read enough on the man to know there was nothing unassuming about the man that had been titled "The Sentinel of Britannia" by Schneizel himself.

"Miss Kozuki, either you get up and stop wasting the precious time I could have been with my family, or I will come over there and beat my displeasure into you."

_You mean more than the dozens of bruises I already have_, she thought dismally as she wrapped her hands around the two metal bars that lay beside her and forced herself back to her feet.

It had been a year since Shanxi and she had arrived at Avalon. She had been stunned by the world when they had arrived, both the fact that it was an unknown planet but because it was already a highly developed garden planet that just seemed to be full of surprises.

But it had also been a year since she had accepted becoming a Knight, but not just any Knight, but the personal Knight of Lelouch vi Britannia. She still didn't know what the hell he had seen in her and he had been loathe to tell her. But since that day her life had been training and theory, preparing her for her role.

Which was why the Knight of Two was here. When a Knight wanted or needed the best sword training on a personal basis, they went to the man known to prospective Knights of the Round as"The Professor".

She could still remember the first time she had been introduced to the man. She had written him off as a nobody and had been rewarded with a trip to the infirmary when he had proceeded to kick her ass in hand-to-hand combat without even breaking a sweat even while she was using her biotics.

Hell, it seemed every day ended up with a trip to the infirmary to be healed. Pain experienced in training saves lives, he kept insisting to her even as he beat the fuck out of her with a smirk.

Speaking of which she glared at him as she settled herself into a stance, he merely stood there holding two staffs with his damned raised eyebrow. He was dressed in a white jumpsuit that watched the white hair that was tied intp a braid.

"Last warning, Miss Kozuki," he stated with a hint of cheer, causing her to growl in frustration. She had yet to hit this bastard after even three months, and he was using a pair of staffs, there was no way he should be doing it.

Throwing her thoughts away, she charged towards him, aiming one of her rods in a stab while the other cocked back for a slash as the Knight spun both of his staffs around and lowered his profile and the amusement disappeared into a neutral mask.

She followed through with a staff which he parried with a flourish from the staff even as he blocked the swing with the other. The parry turned into a strike to her knee causing her to grimace in pain as he pushed, causing her to hurtle backwards off-balance as he drove the right staff into her stomach, before chopping her on the shoulder with the other. He then stepped back as she regained her balance with a grimace at the bruising already beginning to start.

"Sloppy, you telegraphed your moves then and chose to stay too long in my range. And what have I told you about jerky movements? Again."

"How about we end it on that note," a new voice called out, causing Kallen to look at the new source, "Kallen, go get yourself looked at by C.C."

"But-"

"If you want the Knight of Two to keep handing you your ass for a couple more hours then go on ahead," Lelouch stated with crossed arms.

She looked over at the Knight who had pulled a small book out and was reading it, he looked up at her and flashed her a smile that promised her a few hours of agony, she shuddered at the look.

"I'll go and see C.C.," she stated quietly, turning to walk away, only stopping at the sound of a cleared throat, realizing her error she turned back and bowed.

"Thank you Professor for the lesson."

"You're welcome Miss Kozuki, I expect you here bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at oh-six-hundred tomorrow."

She nodded before leaving Lelouch and the Knight of Two, not even paying attention to the fact that Lelouch's eyes were following her every move before she finally disappeared through a sliding door.

"Ah, to be seventeen again," the Knight of Two mused aloud as he snapped shut his book, "Your Majesty."

"That didn't happen," Lelouch growled, earning a nod and and "of course" from the elder. "How is she doing?"

"To be perfectly honest, she sucks," he stated simply as he grabbed a bottle of water and took a swig of it, noting his Emperor's wince, "she's great in hand-to-hand, but she can't seem to translate that to the sword. Too much discipline necessary. That doesn't mean I've given up on her, I have a few tricks left in my bag. She'll never be high Knight of the Round in swordmanship, but if I'm right she can be low level Round."

"And what are you going to do?"

"Throw out the rulebook. If I can't get her to be a disciplined fighter, then I'll make her as unpredictable as I am."

Lelouch nodded sagely. That was the very reason why he had summoned the Knight of Two to Avalon, he was the best swordsmaster in Britannia, even though he preferred to wield a pair of spears. If there was anyone that could train Kallen in a short time it would be him.

"Thank you."

The Knight shook his head.

"I should be thanking your family Your Majesty, if it weren't for Miss C.C. and your uncle I would still be a scientific curiosity. I owe your family a blood debt I can never repay for my life and my family."

"Of course. Well then, I'm going to go and see to Kallen."

The Knight of Two smirked as he watched his young Emperor scurry off to see to his 'Knight', he knew exactly what was running through the young man's mind, his woman had the shit kicked at of her and he was worried. It was actually nice that he could be that kind of woman.

"I wonder how long it will be until they actual do become an item," Alexander mused before taking another swig of the water before freezing as a feeling of wrongness washed over him.

_Ah, sonuva-_

He spun around and just barely avoided the hand axe that was aimed for his head, instead it sliced through the water bottle, splashing the contents everywhere. He reacted by grabbing the wrist attached to the offending axe and used the momentum to throw the person behind it with the axe, sending her into a crouch as she instantly recovered, flipping her brown hair up out of her dark brown eyes.

"Afternoon, sensei," she declared cheerily.

_Ah yes, the second reason he was here, River Thames._

He took a moment to stare at her with his ice-blue eyes as he grappled with what just happened. The girl had not only come at her with an actual freaking axe but she had also-

"River," he said with a sigh, "how many times have I told you to stop calling me sensei? Call me teacher or professor."

The teenage girl frowned at him in response to his irritation.

"But if you are being taught skills by someone you should always call them sensei. Besides, teacher and professor doesn't sound cool enough for you."

_I swear to God before I get back to Pendragon I'm going to kill the fucking weaboo idiot that taught her that shit_, Knight thought harshly. He had tried for MONTHS to get her off the "sensei" horse but she continued to insist on that term.

"So what did you do wrong," he asked, moving over to the wall, tapping the keys on an access panel to reveal a small armory of bladed weapons.

"I infiltrated at the same time the Emperor entered, observing the target as he discussed subject Kozuki in regards to her skill. After the Emperor left I chose to approach the target and wait for an opening...,I waited too long, didn't I sensei?"

He hummed an agreement, hands wrapping around the shafts of a pair of spears and pulled them out from the rack. Rotating them around to get a feel of the weight before looking back at the teen.

"Many of your targets are incredibly paranoid to the point of artistry, River. It is like a sixth-sense to them. The second something doesn't feel right to them you have failed your mission. Now what should you have done?"

"As soon as the Emperor left I should have struck. The transition of a target is longer after a comfortable talk than a talk under duress. You had your guard lowered until you started drinking."

"Yes and no," he responded, noting her confused expression, "assassination is never concrete, it all comes down to instinct, you rely solely on logic those precious seconds wasted on processing can cost you your opportunity and even your life. That's what you need to hone. But enough of that, time for our spar."

0000000

"Another lovely day with the Knight of Two," C.C. mused as she walked in, spotting Kallen as the redhead sat on the edge of the table dressed only in her undergarments.

"What do you think," she replied with a sigh, she really hated having to do this, it seemed Cera Chulainn just enjoyed needling her misery.

"Well, you know the routine. Strip," the pseudo-immortal stated, going over to a cabinet to retrieve an injector as Kallen stripped her undergarments away and laid out on the table, shivering at the chilled air.

"Hn," the woman stated simply looking over her, "I think your bust has increased."

"Really," Kallen exclaimed, head shooting up to examine her bust, only to hear a chuckle from C.C.

"Maybe."

"Ugh," Kallen grunted, flopping back down on the table, letting her head settle on the cushion, "why'd you do that?"

The woman hummed as she slapped the injector on Kallen's arm causing the girl to hiss.

"Cuz I don't like gloom in my work area. Besides, you actually smiled a bit."

Kallen could only close her eyes as she let out a sigh.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Eh, more like the most logical outcome. Getting your ass kicked day-in day-out doesn't exactly promote confidence. Why haven't you talked to Lelouch about it?"

"Cuz he thinks the same way the Knight of Two thinks. Just start the machine C.C., I have biotics lessons tonight and Lelouch will piss and moan if I fuck up the control exercises."

"Aite. Have fun," C.C. accessed her omnitool absently, causing the table and Kallen to retract into the tube and it lit up, bathing her in light.

With all of the medical breakthroughs on Avalon, probably the most important was medical nanotechnology. It had quickly become the ultimate panacea of almost every single human malady in existence. But furthermore it could work on cosmetic features as well, like her bruising.

What the injection had done was place the nanomachines into her body which would seek out the ruptured blood vessels and repair then. At the same time, the light she was under would help repair the discoloration on the outside. By the end of the twenty minute therapy, her skin would be restored and the aches would be a memory. It was probably the only way she could survive the training sessions.

"When you're done," C.C.'s voice rang out, "show yourself out. I have to go and check out something. Have a better day Kallen."

With that, she left Kallen in the room to the simple humming noise of the machine as she laid there. Having nothing else to do she let her mind wander to the one thing that nagged on her so much: Why did Lelouch vi Britannia want her to be his Knight of Honor? She understood all of the implications of such a role, but honestly, she wasn't good enough for such a job. Hell, the only things she had going her way were firearms skills, biotics, and hand-to-hand combat. She sucked at strategy, she was hopeless at proper swordfighting, and she was impatient.

_Fuck, probably the only thing he wants me around him for is because I'm pretty on the eyes_, she through with a mixture of irritation and embarrassment. She knew she was attractive, maybe a bit too tall and tomboyish, but she had the gift of a bust size that made women jealous that somehow didn't have the downside that came with it, like having her bust flop around while in the middle of battle.

She sighed despondently, _yeah, that's what I am to him probably. Trained to be good in a fight and destined to be a conquest for him...why the fuck did I even agree to this shit again?  
_  
The subtle hiss of the door to the room opening caused her to kill her thoughts as she froze. Someone was coming into the medbay here with her stark naked.

"Kallen?"

_Oh god, why did it have to be him? Stay quiet Kallen, he doesn't know you're here._

"C.C. said she was still here...oh."

_Fuck_, she thought in humiliation as she looked out the tube to see Lelouch who was looking at her, his eyes widening at her state of undress as their eyes met.

There was shock, but also something else that flickered there as Lelouch blushed just like she was no doubt doing. He then snapped back up, his head hitting the top of the tube as he let out a yelp.

"I'm sorry Kallen," he quickly blurted out, rubbing his head as he turned his back to her, giving her a good look at his backside, "I didn't know you were...well...umm, naked."

Now, she had two options here, she could take him at face value and hash this out civilly with her boss or she could simply scream at him. Well, unfortunately the logic part of her brain was out to lunch because Lelpuch had SEEN her in all her naked glory.

"Lelouch! You know perfectly well this treatment requires me to be naked. When I get out of this tube-"

"How many times do I have to say it? I'm sorry Kallen." He said as he began to involuntarily turn around "It was an acci-"

"DON"T LOOK AT ME YOU PERVERT!" Kallen shrieked as she saw Lelouch begin to turn. Lelouch quickly snapped back to position.

"Dammit! Blame C.C.! She told me you were concerned about something!"

The angry retort prepared for whatever excuse Lelouch was going to cook up died on her lips as she pursed them in irritation. Why wasn't she shocked that the witch would play them like this? Ugh, was she that desperate to get them to work out together.

"Okay," she replied with a sigh, closing her eyes in frustration, she had about ten more minutes of this, that's all she needed to survive this embarrassment, and proceed to get her revenge that that green-haired bitch, "just, leave Lelouch."

"Not until you tell me what's bothering you," his response caused her eyes to snap back open.

"It's not your concern," she replied dismissively.

"It _is_ my concern."

"Why, because I'm your Knight? Or because you want to get in my pants," she snapped.

"What?! No. None of that. I don't care about any of that."

"What? The Knight or the pants," now she was angry, why couldn't the dumbass actually just listen to her and walk away. She did not want to deal with his crap right now, she just wanted to get the treatment done, change, and then deal with whatever horrors Lelouch had in store for her before she finally got to her quarters and could just pass out to continue the next day.

"Kallen, quit being so difficult, something's been eating at you and I want to know so I can help."

"What's been eating at me? Alright, fine, I'll bite. I want to know what is the purpose of this? You have not given me a single straight answer since you started having me do all of this training. You told me you wanted me to be your Knight, but you haven't said anything about why? I'm not the fastest, I'm not the strongest, I'm most definitely not the smartest, yet you are making my life a living hell. Is it because you just want a Knight, something pretty that can fight, or what? Why are you doing all of this?"

"Because you said no."

"What?"

Lelouch sighed, the type of sigh from a man who had been defeated, and from the bottom of her peripheral vision, she watched as he slid down the side of the machine to sit down on the floor.

"You remember on Shanxi how I asked you to kneel and you told me no."

"Of course. I refused to swear fealty to you. After that you called me your queen."

"Haven't you ever wondered why I would say any of that to you? At all?"

She frowned, truth be told, she had, but she had never came up with any type of concrete answer. She wrote off the queen bullshit to a post-battle high, when all the adrenaline turned into…other things.

"I never could come up with an answer," she finally admitted truthfully.

"You've been out there with me," Lelouch finally said, his voice so different that the suave, confident tone he always went around with, it sounded more like the teenager that he was, unsure, yet still trying to find the answer to everything, "everyone out there treat me like the second coming of Arthur zi Britannia, or God help me, Eowyn reincarnated. I'm surrounded by sycophants who worship me as if I were beyond reproach. But you, you fight for the same reasons I do, you share my convictions. You don't fight for a king or country, you fight to protect the people you care for, for freedom. I chose you so you can be there if I lose my way. I chose you because the power I wield is so corruptible that I'm terrified of giving into the temptation and what it will mean not just for the people who follow me, but for the galaxy as a whole."

He fell silent and even Kallen didn't have any words at what he stated, this was an entirely different side to the man she had been around for a year now, she couldn't even think of a way to even soothe the burdensome complex he seemed to carry like Atlas with the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"Kallen," he finally continued, "the reason I chose you to be my Knight, is because you can watch my back and stab a knife into it if I ever give into this temptation, and I know you will not hesitate to do so."

She couldn't say anything, hell, what could she say? The boy, no, teenager, no dammit, the man, because that was all he could be with that type of thought, had laid himself bare to her. Up until this point she had thought of him as just this leader who thought himself unassailable, but in actuality, it was as much a mask as the Zero persona he put on during battle. It was a humbling experience.

Lelouch must have thought something else, because he got to his feet with a dejected sigh as the system beeped, letting them both know that the procedure was done and Kallen was brought out of the chamber and beside Lelouch now.

"I'm grateful Kallen…," he stated simply in a whisper, she didn't need to see his face as she could feel his eyes were shut as if he were humiliated with himself for showing weakness, "so long as you are there, I can act without fear."

That was it, the straw that broke the camel's back as he began to step away from her, she was already up on her feet, she could feel every bit of emotion laid bare in those simple words. None of the grand speeches that waxed poetic and dripped charisma, it was a simple expression of gratefulness that did it for her, and so she did the only thing she could think of that wouldn't betray the solemnity of the event, but was still like her.

She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a hug, his back to her still, but she wanted to get the point across.

"Thank you," she stated quietly, ignoring the very fact that she was hugging a man who not only had a few inches on her, was built like a fighter, and had the power to reduce enemies to ash, but she was hugging an equal and a friend.

They stood like this for a short time, Lelouch as stiff as a board in her grasp, seemingly stunned at the close contact between the two of them.

"Kallen," Lelouch called her name out shakily, causing her to take her head up from his back.

"Yeah?"

"Can you…stop hugging me? You're kind of…indecent."

Kallen stopped, realizing that she had forgotten that tidbit. She had been hugging him with her body pressed up against him and…oh god. Blushing madly she stepped back and began moving for a robe, trying to take her mind off of what transpired.

"I'll…see you when you're ready for your lesson," Lelouch declared, his voice still trembling as if he were holding himself back from something, he then hastily bade a retreat for the door.

"Lelouch."

But he was already gone, leaving Kallen with a whole lot of thoughts whirling in her head.

0000000

After getting a quick run in the shower and getting dressed, she reported to her biotics lessons, knowing what it entailed, hard training by Lelouch in learning on how to finely control her biotics. It was an arduous and grueling exercise that always left her exhausted to where she simply collapsed into bed after the fact. But that wasn't what bothered her now.

No, it was the exchange that had happened in the medbay that bothered her. The words were being spun around in her head as she recounted it. She wasn't exactly brilliant, but she knew when there was something that she was missing.

So what was it that she was missing?

That was what she was intending to find out.

The door to Lelouch's private training chamber slid open allowing her to step inside, however it was only a step she got before she stopped at the sight splayed before her that robbed her of her breath.

Lelouch was sitting in the center of the chamber of course, as he always was when she showed up. What was so different was the biotic energy he was giving off in sheets, his body engulfed in red energy that shimmered and whipped around like an out-of-control wildfire.

She had seen this before of course, well, not this sight. But the red energy, chaotic yet somehow still in control, she had seen it at Shanxi as it devastated so many.

It was as objects that he had laying around him began to rise that his eyes opened, causing her to gasp at the red that framed the magenta sigil of a bird with its wings mid-flap in each eye. Staring into those eyes she felt as if she would do anything for the man before her.

Then the feeling was gone as the objects dropped to the ground, Lelouch's eyes closing as the biotic flames died down. As the last vestige died down, he opened them again, his trademark violet eyes looking at her with hesitancy, shame, and something else buried in it.

"Kallen," his voice came out hoarse, "what are you doing here?"

She frowned, trying to shake the odd feeling of emptiness she now felt. Just what in the seven hells just happened? What were those eyes?

"Training," she finally said, logging those questions away to ask shortly, "I was supposed to meet you here after I was done freshening up?"

"Oh," he stated simply, slowly getting himself up to his feet, telegraphing his exhaustion to her, "I forgot."

_Lelouch forgetting, that's something new_, she thought, stepping into the room and letting the door shut behind her. _And why is he so tired?_

"Before we start today's training Lelouch, I want to ask you some questions."

He arched a hesitant eyebrow as he took a swig of whatever was in the bottle. Placing it down, he walked over to an open part of the floor and and sat down, Kallen following and seating herself across from him.

"Go on then."

So where should she start, should she ask what was bothering him? Maybe what the hell she had just seen was? Or maybe the queen comment? Or-

"What do I mean to you?"

"I already told you."

There it was again. That flicker in his eyes, that waver. Then his response was automatic, reflexive, a hastily emplaced defense mechanism that wasn't as perfect as it's user believed.

So what was hiding behind the mask of Lelouch vi Britannia? What was there that he didn't want to be seen?

"You told me you wanted me to be your Knight, that you wanted me to keep you from going to the dark. But there's something more, isn't there?"

The brows furrowing was the only response she got, but it was close enough to an affirmative that she was sure she would get.

_Going to make it difficult_, she thought with a huff.

"You actually meant the queen part, didn't you?"

There it was, she thought as Lelouch's mask shattered so easily. Gone was the impassive barrier that had been just erected, instead conflict waged a war upon his face as a myriad of emotions flickered a across his features.

He then gave a sharp nod in the affirmative

"Why?"

0000000

_"Why?"_

For one of the very few times in his life so far, Lelouch really had no quick answer. Of course, he could always just give her the entire spiel about like goals as he had done before, but that would be lying to her. For some reason lying to her just seemed wrong to him. He had omitted several points already because he honestly didn't know how to explain to Kallen what being his Knight, let alone his Queen would require of her.

Why did he have to tell her why he wanted her to be his Knight? Why did he affirm that decision to her and give her reason? He could have just played her along until she had given up and then he wouldn't have had to face this dilemma. He only had two choices now, advance or retreat, and he hated both options.

There was a third option of course, but it was the coward's way out. He could just Geass her into what he wanted, but then...no, if he did that he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he had done so. Goddammit.

He finally looked at her and when he did so he lost all of his will as every single plan was blown away at the expectant look she carried, there only remained the one option he feared the most, because if he didn't do so, he would not be able to live with himself.

Because he, Lelouch vi Britannia, was attracted to Kallen Kozuki. Maddeningly so.

And so, he, Lelouch vi Britannia, arguably the most powerful man in the galaxy, relented without so much as a whimper.

"Because when I first saw you, I just knew," he finally stated with a heavy hesitancy, watching her expression, "when we were inbound for Shanxi to relieve you we had tapped into the Turian combat chatter to get an idea of what we were facing and how the fight was proceeding. Wading through all of those communications was one of the most arduous and difficult things I have done in my life Kallen, listening to the Turians talking about killing humans like it was a sporting event. But, in spite of that, I found you. You were one of the handful of things the Turians actually despised more than anything because against all odds your team had been successful against them."

He could tell she hadn't known of any of this, it wasn't something many outside of himself, Jack, and Jeremiah knew, but he hadn't just happened across Kallen as she probably had figured. No...

"I was attracted to you like a moth to a flame," he admitted quietly, "I can't put it any other way. And when I met you and we fought alongside one another I just knew, as crazy as it sounds, that if anyone could be my Empress, my Q-1, then it would be you."

There, he had laid it out there, there was no turning back. If anything, he had either landed probably the most important asset? No. Ally? Definitely not. The most important person of his life. Or he had pushed away that one thing that could have been the best part of him.

Kallen's silence was like an eternity to him as he scanned her, part of him hoping that maybe he had reached out to her and created that connection that he so desperately wanted with her. Everything it seemed to him, his rebellion, his revenge, it all hinged on the answer of a woman who was not even a Britannia and really had no investment in his crusade. If there was a god of irony that existed in the world he must have been rolling on the floor laughing right about now.

"So," she started, "let me get this straight. You have had a thing for me since Shanxi, and not only have you had a thing for me, but you have manipulated me along the way to be your Knight, suffering through the various ignominies of getting my ass kicked up and down the mat by an asshole Knight of the Round obsessed with using pain as a motivator for lessons, just so you can better prepare me for when you finally make a move on me. Am I with you so far?"

"...Yes."

"Good."

That was when she struck him, a blur of movement that he had barely been able to track with his eyes before his head recoiled back and his jaw protested the hammer blow that had struck it. As he slowly brought his head back to its original position processing the fact that _she hit him_, he caught her shaking her hand up and down from the impact.

"Asshole."

_Goddamn that fucking hurt_, his mind screamed, quickly processing the fact that that strike had actually dislocated the left side of his jaw slightly. His hand tracing up the side of his face, and knowing it was going to hurt a lot more now when he did _this._

He pulled his jaw back into position, his eyes watering at the sheer agony that had resulted his jaw settled back into place. Yet even as that happened, he could already feel his body reacting to the situation, the pain slowly starting to fade as the very reason of his conflict solved the issue of injury.

"I supposed," he opened and moved his jaw around, wincing again, "I deserved that."

He had expected something additional from Kallen, some type of smart comment, but none came as he became chilled at the sight of her frozen stiff, like a deer in headlights as she looked at him.

_Oh no._

"Just...," she finally spoke, visibly gulping, "what the hell was that?"

Now it was his turn to freeze as he realized exactly what she had seen. There was only one thing she could have seen and it all but confirmed what C.C. and himself had theorized in regards to what both he himself and she had was that when in combat, under periods of significant stress, or sustaining bodily damage, their eyes always lit up with the sigil of Geass whether they liked it or not. It was an unforeseen side-effect that they had still no idea why it happen, only that it happened.

And it had just happened here for Kallen to see.

_Shit._

So now, what were his options now that he had opened up the massive can of worms that was not only Geass, but Project Ascension. The very same project that he had previously wanted her to undertake and now he was not so sure.

Because if Ascension failed, she would die.

But what could he do? Could he tell her the truth about what he intended, that everything he had done wasn't just because he loved her, but because he desperately needed an equal so much that he was willing to gamble upon her life for his own benefit? Wasn't exactly the most romantic of ideas, hell, in fact, it was damnably selfish of him. But if he didn't tell her, he was willfully leading her to her possible death...

He couldn't have that, if she died upon his lives he probably wouldn't be able to live with himself. Like or not, she had wormed her way into his heart in such a way that he couldn't do something so stupid...he could just imagine that somewhere, someplace, he would have done something as stupid as this, but it wasn't him here and now So he had to throw the dice and let destiny figure itself out.

"I suppose you needed to learn about Geass sooner or later," he finally admitted with a hint of resignation, motioning for her to sit as he did so as well.

Watching as she settled in, he took a deep calming breath for what he was going to say next.

"I have omitted a few things about what Avalon truly is. I 'm aware you have been trying to figure out what it is but have had no luck in it. The fact of the matter is, Kallen, Avalon is a Prothean planet meant to prepare the next cycle for the coming of the Reapers."

He knew she had been told that this was a Prothean planet that had several relics and ruins that they had "restored": a half-truth of course, but operational security has to be retained.

"What we found here is what resulted in us being so powerful Kallen. Ships, weapons, medical tech, everything is thanks to this planet."

"But that doesn't explain you."

"Yeah. Suffice to say, the Protheans left us with something else entirely. Using information and samples gleaned from combat with the Reapers, they created technology meant to enhance their soldiers to the point that they were supposed to be army killers...by injecting reverse-engineered Reaper nanomachines into their soldiers."

Before she could say anything through her shock he hastily continued.

"The only downside is that it doesn't work for everyone. In fact, there have been only three attempts to integrate it into people. The first one was a researcher who was infatuated with C. wanted to impress her, it failed because of the fact that it wasn't the finished product. Mao, or Subject M, is now a permanent guest at a research facility where we study the effects of indoctrination. The second test subject was C.C. herself. The latest test was-"

"Yourself," she finished, getting rewarded with a nod from him.

"And it nearly killed me," he admitted, closing his eyes with a shudder, he could remember those moments when all he had wanted to do was die, the agony as the nanomachines literally ripped his body apart and rebuilt it to what he would eventually become today.

"That's why...That's why I find myself conflicted now, Kallen. Because if you continue down this path, you will not only become my Knight, but you will be required to undergo the same operation I had to go through. And honestly, at first, when I saw you, I didn't really give a damn, but because of you and all that has happened, I know what is important. That's why I'm even here telling you all of this, Kallen, I want to give you the choice, the choice I never gave myself because I needed power."

He then took a deep breath, _here goes._

"Because I have come to care for you as more than just a tool to be used, Kallen, and definitely more than a friend as well."

It went silent again as Kallen sat there staring at him for the longest of times. Honestly, he did not know what was going through her mind, her face was akin to the many masks he had warn when he had not wanted anyone to know what he was thinking.

So it came as a surprise to him that slowly formed into a lump in his throat as she stood up abruptly, her hands clenched even as she looked at him, her eyes still a blank slate for him.

"I think," she finally stated, finding her voice, "I need some time to think about all of this Lelouch."

Then as abruptly as she had made that statement, she turned and started walking away even as he shot up to his feet.

"Kallen," he called out, deep down he knew that nothing would ever be the same between them, the fact that he had laid it all out before her and now she had said nothing except she wanted to 'think'.

His plaintive voice caused her to pause, her hands clenching and unclenching as if she were angry, which, to be honest, he was pretty sure she was beyond that point.

"I just need some time to think Lelouch. Don't request my presence, I will see you when I'm ready."

And then she was out the door and gone, leaving him with nothing but failure on the mind.

0000000

The sound of a chime caused his eyes to snap open, taking in his surroundings as his mind had never allowed him to sleep, instead spending the entire time since he had laid down torturing him by going over every single aspect of the exchange he had with Kallen. At first he actually thought it was his mind playing a trick on him, but he wrote that off when it chimed again. His eyes glanced over at the clock on his bedside, noting the 0232 hours denoting that it was in the middle of the night. Sighing, he threw the blankets off of him as he got to his feet and throwing on a robe to cover the fact he was only in a t-shirt and boxers.

A third chime caused him to grind his teeth in annoyance and manage out an "I'm coming," as he exited out of his bedroom and headed for the door, making sure to avoid the furniture that he could barely see the outline in the dim light.

Coming to the door, he tapped the pad to open it.

"What is-"

He couldn't finish as on the other side of the door was Kallen.

"Can I come in," she asked.

That feeling in his gut worsened as he simply nodded, turning away even as he accessed the pad and activated the lights to his quarters. It wasn't exactly what his subjects had wanted of him to have, but he had fought tooth and nail when deciding how it looked like, and in the end, they had a compromise. It was definitely more luxurious than standard quarters, but outside of the private estate he had at the Brocéliande Reserve, it was the only place that he ever stayed.

"Please, take a seat. Would you like something to drink?"

"No," Kallen replied stiffly as she took a seat, seemingly uncomfortable.

"Alright then," he replied, taking a seat across from her, "so, what do you want?"

"I'm done thinking about it," she finally said, her eyes locking with his, "suffice to say I'm pissed Lelouch."

"Kal-"

"Let me speak Lelouch," she snapped, "you interrupt me again and I'll walk out of here and you can find another Knight."

Snapping his jaw shut he simply nodded.

"I hate liars Lelouch. But I especially hate being led around by the nose. The fact you were going to wait til the last moment to inform me of what needed to be done makes me want to just tell you to go fuck yourself."

She let that settle over him, her eyes hard on him, as if she were trying to restrain herself from leveling the frustration lacing her words upon him in a more physical way. But then it was gone as she seemed to relax.

"However, I would be lying to you if I didn't understand exactly where you're coming from. Trust is asset more precious than an army for a leader, to give it to anyone is probably the hardest thing you can do. Furthermore, I would be lying to myself and you if I did not admit that I likewise find myself attracted to you."

Well, That was certainly something he hadn't expected, he thought to himself as he processed what she had just stated probably a lot slower than he thought he was possible of being.

"Kallen..."

"But," she held up a finger, "I'm not just going to go quietly into this relationship. If you really respect me and care for me, then you will honor my wishes."

"And what are they?"

"First, you don't lie, omit, sidestep, or lawyerese me ever again. You do that, I will not hesitate to kick your ass, ascended or not, then leave you with nothing. Second, I decide how I train, no more of this structured crap, it's not working, so let me do it, I know myself better than any of you, okay? Third, I will decide on whether I will actually let you inject anything Reaper into me, I've read some of the stories what indoctrination does, I refuse to be a slave, not at Shanxi, and especially not now. And finally, I want to take this relationship slow."

Up until that last criterion he had been nodding his head agreement, but as soon as it was listed out, he had stopped at the last part, his eyes widening as he repeated that in his head.

"I see," he said that as calmly as possible, but in actuality a part of him was celebrating the fact that she had decided on the merits of a possible relationship with him.

"Now," she said as she got to her feet, "I've kept your time, it's late, and I need to see to some other things before tomorrow morning's training session. So, good night Lelouch."

"Good night, Kallen."

With that exchange done, she left the room, leaving Lelouch staring after her. Smirking, he leaned back in his chair, bellowing out "lights" causing the lights to die out and encase him back in darkness. There was no way he could sleep now, not with that type of news.

0000000

**1247 Local Time**

**The Next Day**

There were only a handful of things that majorly annoyed the Knight of Two like no other; one was one of his Knights reading adult manga around his young and impressionable children, the other was having his time wasted.

Right now his time being wasted and he was getting quite irritated with Kallen Kozuki because she was now over six hours late, but not only that, she was also wasting the time of his Emperor as well.

The door opened to the training area causing him to look from his Emperor who was trying to stifle a yawn. His eyes narrowed as the subject of his irritation entered into the room, followed by Lady Chulainn and a medical team.

Confused by what he was seeing, his eyes went back to Kallen and paused as he realized she was in a combat skin that matched her hair.

"I apologize for taking so long," Kallen began, "I had to finish some arrangements."

Frowning ever so deeper because there was something off about all of this, he chose instead to step towards her.

"And what were those arrangements," he asked as neutrally as possible, quickly noting how there was a flicker of anticipation on her features that caused his alarm bells to blare even louder.

"Preparing this," Kallen said, reaching behind herself and withdrew a pair of short swords, one from each hand, from the sheathe on her back. Taking her right one, she pointed it at him, allowing him to note how the sword was oddly structured to where it has slightly curved inward on the inside of the blade til it reached the tip into a single-edged sword tip.

"No more practice spars, Professor, I want a full speed go."

What the hell changed overnight, he thought to himself as he weighed this new, confident Kallen in front of him. There wasn't any of that anger or fear that he always seem beforehand, instead she just seemed to brim with confidence.

"And what brought this sudden whimsy on Miss Kozuki?"

"It's Stadtfeld," she corrected, "and let's just say I got some enlightenment last night."

Out of the corner of his eye he spotted a twitch from Lelouch that caused him to wonder exactly what went on. But if he wasn't protesting...

"Alright, if you think you can handle it. What are the terms of our engagement?"

"Full contact, defensive biotics only, tech allowed. We have to come at each other with the intent to kill."

His eyes once again darted to the Emperor who looked ready to explode but still hadn't said anything. Instead, the teen looked at him and merely nodded.

_Just what the hell happened last night?!_ He and Lelouch had pored over her training, every little thing was to be micromanaged in a way that would get her to grow at the prescribed rate. It's the same accelerated training regimen designed for future prospects of the Knights of the Round. So why the hell was he abandoning it?!

He couldn't harm his possible Empress, but here she was demanding that he place her in danger for a skirmish.

"Don't look at him," she commanded, causing him look back at her, "I'm your opponent and you WILL respect me."

Well, that was certainly imperial, he thought with narrowed eyes and ground teeth as he stared at her, but she was not his boss and most definitely not his superior.

"Be glad you thought ahead and brought a medical team," he stated quietly, ice-blue eyes meeting her sapphire, "when I'm done with you for that disrespect you're going to need then. Very well, challenge accepted, MISS Stadtfeld."

Walking over to the panel where he kept his prized spears named after his children, he opened up and withdrew them, twirling the white one in his right hand named after his son, Isaiah, getting a feel for its familiar weight again as he stretched himself, then proceeded to swing the black one in his left hand named after his daughter Samantha.

Looking back to Kallen who had relaxed, he went through a handful of katas before being satisfied with the warmup.

"Are you ready for your spanking, little lady," he asked, bringing back his amusement in order to psyche her.

"I don't know old man, are you done working out the cobwebs? On a side note, I'll allow you to use your spear powers. Make it a bit interesting for me."

He frowned now, how the hell did she know about that? He hadn't even used it against River because it was a dangerous technique, hell, he didn't use it against his fellow Knights when they sparred.

_So who...Chulainn_, he thought irritably, looking over at her and catching her smirk as their eyes met. Sighing, he focused back upon Kallen, deciding that it was best that he definitely take her seriously now, there was something going on that he wasn't aware of and he did not like unknown variables.

_And what the hell is it with her calling herself Stadtfeld? That esteemed house didn't have...it couldn't be._

Chuckling he grinned, I should have realized it when she introduced herself as Kozuki. _Looks like 'ol Malcolm is going to have a nasty surprise soon...assuming the young tart survives this._

"Alright, young lady," he held up his right hand and stretched out two fingers, beckoning towards her, "let's dance."

She didn't nod in reply, nor did she assume any stance, instead she just turned and started walking around him, keeping her left side exposed to him as she stared at him like a predator circling her prey. He chose to keep an eye on her, following her movements even as he adjusted his stance to move his right arm forward and the spear angled towards Kallen, but not far enough to expose him.

_Okay, this is different. Normally she would go in straight for a strike, what is she planning? What are her skills? I know she' a biotic, but His Majesty has been mum on letting me know exactly whats she has in her arsenal other than she has control issues. So, if she is so keen on defensive biotics, what is there in her arsenal that would give her an advantage? Stasis? It's possible, but unlikely, the focus needed for that isn't within her make-up. What about barrier? No, no offensive applications available. Can't be annihilation field since it's both offensive and defensive. It can't be mindhack either. What about sphere? No, that offers no advantage and she knows it. Protector turns the user into a sitting duck. It has to be meditation then, that's the only thing that she could be offered that might use it. Throw in some charge and she might have limited teleportation capabilties that will allow her to flank me._

So in that case, he thought, tapping his wrist and a light construct appeared upon his chest before expending over the rest of his body, acting like a second skin, _I'll tech armor up for when she uses her charge, detonate when she get's close. Back it up with a barrier if necessary. I'll also throw a meditation in there, I don't want her getting the best of me here._

Choosing to take that moment to inhale and exhale, he allowed himself to tap into his biotics, feeling the flow of the energy as it surged through his body, loosing and strengthening his musculature at the same time.

That was when she struck, obviously thinking about taking advantage of the fact that he was laying the groundwork for his strategy. Unfortunately for her, he had predicted it.

Her swords met Isaiah in brutal flash, sparks flashing as they struck home in novice idiocy of her blades striking the strongest parts of his spear, no doubt causing damage to the finely honed blades that required incredibly sharpness to work.

With Samantha, he quickly jabbed at her, more of a testing of her reactions rather than going for the kill so early. Instead, of her reacting to the blade, she suddenly began to glow blue as she suddenly tilted the blades so the flat was on the spear and pulled up, suddenly arcing into the air up and over using the spear as to vault over him, causing him duck her swipe at his head. Absently noting that she caught a white hair as he brought Samantha back in a sharp strike intending to strike her with the back-end of the spear. But it met air as she suddenly charged down to his legs, causing him to suddenly jump up in order avoid the slash that would have taken both of his achilles' down. Instead he countered by detonating his tech armor, judging the distance to be enough as he focused his own biotics and gently glided away from her to slowly turn around.

Just in time to see her appear out of nowhere in the middle of the air, _oh fuck she can teleport_ he thought in horrified addendum, gracefully spinning around like a top, the blades following with her body as they quickly came close to him, causing him to grit his teeth as he threw up a barrier that caused her to collide with it, but instead of the barrier holding up, her blades cut through the barrier like it was nothing, causing him to reactively use the only weapon he had available as he channeled biotic energy into Isaiah and swung it.

A shockwave whipped out of the spear tip and into Kallen, but instead of shattering her like it should have, she acted like a kite gathered up into the wind, using the biotic energy flowing through her body to fly up and away towards the ceiling as her feet settled against it, before tossing the sword in her right hand like a harpoon at him, and then pushing of the ceiling to enter into a drive towards him.

Immediately he brought Samantha across and batted it away, pissed that she would do something so stupid as throw a weapon away, only for his anger to convert into shock as she outstretched her hand and a gigantic five-fingered yellow claw sprouted out of her hand and she latched onto Samantha as she drove him backwards, his feet sliding along the tile.

He only had enough time to avoid finding his intestines meeting the floor as his shock-addled mind processed the blade about to disembowel him requiring him to arch his back away and only earning the sword passing through fabric and the skin on his stomach before Kallen had let go of the sword, grabbed his other arm, and levered herself up to drive her feet into his chest, his arms resisted the opposing force pushing him one way while he desperately tried to hold on to his weapons.

And naturally something gave as he staggered like a drunkard away, Isaiah in hand. His head snapped back up to Kallen who was tossing Samantha the left side of her lip quirking upwards in a smirk. Her hand flexing again, the claw reappeared.

_Omniblade formatted in a claw, clever. With no mass she can treat it like an extension of her hand and grapple with it or worse. Her technique is that there is no technique, everything she did there was more controlled recklessness than any type of concrete and sound tactics. I was wrong and right, constraining her in any style would be detrimental to her skills._

Her hand flexed, the claw following the very moment as he cut off his thoughts.

_Here she comes_, he thought as he handled the spear with both hands now. There was a reason he preferred using a pair of spears, simply because it limited him from being a true terror. Having the young woman take away Samantha was probably the worst thing she could do, cracking his neck slightly, he smiled back. Oh yes, she was about to find out.

She then charged at him, claw trailing behind her, but her left hand slashed out, a small biotic lash flipping out past him, causing his eyes to widen as he realized where it was going. Channeling his biotic energy into he flowed it through the spear before slamming it down in front of him, causing a massive burst of energy to bloom causing him to ride the wave of it as his hand reached to grab the the sword that was arcing through the air, disconnected from the lash thanks to his attack, but instead of his hand grabbing onto it, he felt a hand wrap around his own.

_Dammit_, he snarled as he instead, snap-activated his tech armor causing it to detonate towards Kallen, and watched as it did nothing as she had already disappeared in a blue flash as she charged out of the way.

Head snapping back to where she had headed, he only had enough time for him to bring up his spear and block her swipe, spinning the spear around and hitting the unbladed side on on her head, causing her to roll to the side. But she was already getting up as she pushed off her feet, angling the blade straight at him, he instead grabbed her wrist as he sidestepped the blade, then felt her claw wrap around his leg and felt himself get thrown through the air, Kallen's biotics flaring as she did so. He collided against the wall, the shock dazing him for a moment. Forcing himself up to his feet he looked at her as she was bent over, hands on her knees, trying to get her breath.

_Fast, reckless, unpredictable, she's easily Knight of the Round material, low-level at the moment, maybe not as good as River, but she has her own perks and skills that could merit an invitation if being the Emperor's Knight doesn't pan out, _he thought with approval, listening to her groan as he got himself back up, _If she wasn't up all night she wouldn't be so exhausted fighting me. I wonder what she would be like at the top of her form._

He bit his lip in silent consternation as he wondered exactly how the fight would be going if he wasn't restraining himself. As much as he had talked shit, he had been holding back for his Emperor's sake, not too much, but even then he was finding it somewhat difficult to not want to unleash on her. Instead...

"We're done," he stated simply, watching the young redhead's expression, "I must apologize to you, Miss Stadtfeld," he stressed her name, "I have not been a good teacher to you."

He then bowed to her, knowing that it was the only thing he could do. It wasn't often that he had to experience that humbling experience, but when he did as a teacher, he could only offer this.

0000000

_Memo to self_, she thought as she struggled to regain breath, her body afire from the strain of battle and biotics usage, never challenge the Knight of Two to a fight without a full nights sleep and a decent meal.

In spite of the fact that she knew her body and hell, Lelouch, would give her hell later, the gamble had been worth it. Of course, it had been a close thing.

Still, she slowly brought herself back up, her body feeling so heavy now.

"Apology accepted, Professor," she stated, bowing in return, "and now...I think I will take a nap."

She could feel herself falling even before she had finished what she was saying as she crumpled toward the ground.

0000000

"Kallen," Lelouch cried, watching as the redhead fell toward the ground, already calling for his biotics as he teleported to her to grab her before she hit the ground.

Wrapping her up, he lowered himself down as some medics quickly followed after him to check over her, at the same time a group ran to the Knight of Two who was bleeding from his stomach. Handing her to them he looked at her with worry even as he stood up.

What she had done was so stupid! Challenging the Knight of Two to combat like that was something not even his fellow Knights of the Round really wanted to do. He just had too much of an experience and skill advantage. Even with him holding back she shouldn't have had a chance!

But she had done it. And he couldn't help be proud of her even if he knew he would need a stiff drink and a smoke because of what she had just per her through.

"She's just fainted from exhaustion, Your Majesty," the medic confirmed his suspicions, "let her get a day's rest and she should be fine."

"Thank you."

"Your Majesty," the Knight of Two's call caused him to look at the man as he was being treated, seeing he wasn't going to be able to move.

"Duke Knight, how are you?"

The elder chuckled, "My wife is going to rib me about the new battlescar. Give me a day or two and I'll be back to work."

"I see."

He then turned back to Kallen who was being placed on a mobile bed.

"I know it might not mean much to you Your Majesty, but I think you chose wisely. I don't know what happened last night, but whatever this is, with a few minor improvements she's easy middle Knight of the Round."

Lelouch could only nod in response.

"I'll take that under advisement. Take the next two days off and rest Alexander, I think we're going to have our hands full training her from now on."

"I don't doubt it, but I recommend you also take the two days off and spend the time with her. I think you'll both need it."

"You noticed?"

"Known for awhile, but today you looked like you wanted to rip out my spine when I struck her."

He could only sigh, just great. This was going to be a lot of fun.

"I think I'll do just that and take her to the Reserve, I think we'll both need it. When you're ready, you can find us."

"As you wish."

Sensing closure to his discussion with his subject, he followed after Kallen as she was lead out of the training area.

Cera sidled up the Knight and arched an eyebrow as noble reached into his pocket, extracted several bills from a billfold, and handed them to the immortal.

"Thank you for your business Duke."

"Remind me not to bet on matters of the heart with you again, Duchess."

"Why Al, I didn't take you for a sore loser."

"You're not the one who has to explain to his OSI-trained assassin wife how he lost twenty thousand pounds betting on the love life of his Emperor."

"Touche," C.C. replied with a hum counting her money. Now she had enough money for the limited edition one of ten ultra-rare super-sized Cheese-kun.

Today was turning into a glorious day for the queen of pizza lovers. And it wasn't even halfway done

* * *

**1633 Arcturus Local Time**

**October 12th, 2173**

**Arcturus Academy**

**Arcturus Stream**

Jane Shepard was a waiting woman, it was a trait that had been instilled in her by Captain Anderson, to be impatient was to be dead. So she had waited carefully and as inconspicuously as possible for her prey.

It had been a year since the incident with Sergeant Tylinius and thankfully since she had actually met Suzaku Kururugi her troubles had diminished significantly. While there had been occasional fights in the showers, Suzaku had now involved himself in them and helped her out. The last fight had been almost four months ago.

A small part of her actually missed the fights, though if she was honest with herself, it was a welcome relief. It allowed her to focus even harder on her studies and improving her trade. Even Tylinius had backed off her, she had a feeling that Suzaku had something to do with that, but he would never give her a straight answer when she asked.

In a few months they would start-up squad training and that was why she was here waiting.

Her eyes then captured her quarry as she exited the classroom, Jane standing up from her leaning position and followed in pursuit.

"Colonel Nu," she called, causing her target to pause and turn around.

While Colonel was her military rank as recognized by the Systems Alliance, in reality her full title was Baroness Villetta Nu of the Britannian Knights; currently on loan to the Systems Alliance as a trainer for their biotics. From what the rumor mill could pick up was that Nu had been fighting for Britannia since she was sixteen on multiple colonies and was an accomplished wielder of biotic power. The only reason she was even teaching was because she was now a mother, her husband was some medium-level bureaucrat from the Systems Alliance that got a special exemption to immigrate to Britannia. Ohgi was his name, if she recalled. Anyways, he was now a stay-at-home dad for their daughter. The rumor mill had it that Nu was here to stay close to her family and to keep an eye on the up-and-coming biotics in the Systems Alliance, but no one was really sure. There were some that murmured that she was OSI, though if that was true, why would a soldier one step below the Knights of the Round get herself involved in teaching wet-behind-the-ears academy brats.

"Cadet…Shepard, isn't it," she asked, her yellow eyes narrowed in curiosity, as if she was trying to figure out why a 'normal' would be approaching her, as she adjusted a bang of her bluish-teal hair, "to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Just a few questions, Colonel, if you have the time."

The instructor glanced at the ornate watch, more than likely a gift from her husband..

"I actually have a video call with my husband in ten minutes. If you still want to talk then my quarters are open to any student from eighteen hundred to twenty-one hundred."

She bit back the surge of irritation that flowed through her. It had been hard enough for her to come to this Britannian. But to be invited to her personal quarters? Was the information worth it?

"I'll be there then.

0000000

**1802 Arcturus Local Time**

**Villetta Nu's Quarters**

She pressed down on the panel, but instead of a chime sounding announcing her presence the door simply opened.

"Come in," Villetta's voice sounded from inside.

Taking a deep breath she stepped in and came to an abrupt halt at the sight before her.

Sitting on two massive leather couches with what looked like a massive three-dimensional puzzle floating in the air in between them was Suzaku and Colonel Nu. Suzaku was still in his Academy uniform, while Nu on the other hand had let her hair down and was relaxing in a robe watching Suzaku intently.

"Ah, Shepard, welcome," she said getting up, before she started glowing blue while looking at the puzzle.

"Let's take a break Suzaku," she said, Suzaku stopped glowing and the three dimensional puzzle was snapped together and dropped softly to the ground.

Suzaku proceeded to wipe his brow of perspiration and got up, casting a look at her before heading to the kitchen. A few moments later he came back with two bottles, he lightly threw it to the Instructor who slowed its velocity with her biotics before it softly landed in her hand.

That was definitely impressive, she thought as she watched the Baroness unscrew the cap of the bottle and took a swig.

"Villetta-sensei, I'll-"

"Stay here Suzaku. I think you might be interested in what Cadet Shepard wishes to ask me."

Jane took that time to look at Suzaku who looked a little guilty. _Villetta-sensei?_

"Please, take a seat Cadet. Where are my manners? Would you like a drink? I have just about anything, hot chocolate, energy drinks, you name it, I even just got a shipment for gelato de bere today."

"Wouldn't that cut down on a biotic's electrolytes?"

A small smile graced the older woman's features.

"Very astute. However, the calories gained balance out the electrolytes lost, besides, my students enjoy a treat from time to time."

_Or to loosen lips to get information_, Jane adds mentally before giving her own smile.

"Then I won't mind one."

"Give me a minute then," the instructor replied heading into the kitchen.

Jane then took a seat on Suzaku's couch as he took a sip of his drink nervously, as if he had been found with his hand in the cookie jar. But then again, he was quite aware of her viewpoint on Britannians.

"Villetta-sensei," she mouthed at him, getting rewarded with a shrug and a likewise mouthed, "you wouldn't understand."

"Try me," she retorted, then smoothed her features as Villetta returned, sitting her chilled beverage in front of her while she had claimed a mug of hot chocolate.

Taking a seat in a chair she settled herself in.

"So, Shepard, what brings you to my humble quarters?"

Well, here goes...

"I want to know about biotics."

"Crack open a textbook."

"No, I don't want the basics. I want to know everything. How it's done, theory, tactics, all of it."

Villetta looked at her for what seemed like an eternity, taking a sip of her chocolate before dabbing her lip with a napkin.

"Why?"

"Because in a few months we start exercises for combined units, I want to understand biotics from an expert so I can integrate them efficiently."

Again a long pause ensued, Shepard could swear that she could hear the gears turn in the instructor's head.

"Very well, but before I start answering; I have a question for you."

"It seems fair," she replied carefully. Why did she have a feeling that she knew the question already.

"Don't take offense to this, but I've conferred with a few of my comrades considering your...cold approach to them. I am curious, why are you so hostile to Britannians when you are yourself are Britannian?"

Shepard's hands balled up into fists as she fought down the irritation that was bubbling to the surface, but it wasn't something that she could fully put a lid back on, so instead she molded it to her use.

"How should a Britannian who detests her own country live her life?"

Suzaku stiffened while Villetta gained a frown, her eyes now showing that intelligence as Shepard could feel them calmly analyze her.

"Mindoir, right?"

"Then you have heard of it," she replied with a bit of acid in her tone, "Britannia always claimed to pride itself on being able to protect it's colonies. Tell me, where was the vaunted Britannian fleet when I had to watch my family and friends get massacred by the Batarians? Where was the vaunted Britannian fleet when I watched my best friend get...," she cut herself off and took a deep shuddering breath before refocusing on Villetta, green meeting gold.

"I don't blame you specifically, Colonel, but I will never look at Britannia or its people the same way."

The room became like a crypt in its silence before Villetta started speaking.

"I think the best way to explain biotics off the bat is to forget all the shit the book says. It's wrong. Instead, think of biotics like those fairy tales of wizards, witches, and mages. Biotic energy is in much the way we would look at dark magic. What differentiates what biotics do is that there are no words necessary, only imagination and ability to manipulate energy."

She then began glowing as a small ball was lifted up and brought in front of Villetta before it shattered with hundreds of small pieces flying out as she stared at it.

Then the puzzle began re-assembling itself at a rapid pace as Villetta's fingers started moving at a rapid pace.

"In many ways our biotics are like magic, each 'spell' a creation of the mind and large amounts of practice."

The puzzle finished being reassembled and was placed on the countertop.

"To be perfectly honest, the sky is the limit what a Biotic can do or create. The only problem is much like witches, biotics are viewed with suspicion and paranoia."

"And what does Britannia think of biotics then," she asked.

"I'm not at liberty to compare," Villetta admitted with a grimace, "contractual obligations. I can only suggest you reference Britannian cultural history for a baseline expectation."

Shrewd answer.

"So what were you teaching Suzaku?"

"Biotic control and manipulation. It's actually an advanced level technique that is taught to Britannian biotics. What happens is that we use the biotics to first take apart the puzzle, scramble it, then put it back together with dropping it. Suzaku is well ahead of his fellow biotics and I decided to teach him control and manipulation."

"But what will that do for him? You talk about the manipulation of energy but what would this training do?"

"Suzaku?"

"By doing these exercises I can reduce the amount of energy required to use my biotic capabilities. It increases overall efficiency but also the ability to form and mold energy."

"And the result is?"

"Overall better manifestations of biotic powers. Better barriers, faster and stronger power deployments, better capabilities to create new biotic skills, to name a few. Another benefit is less stress on the biotic's body."

"Some of the best biotics users have reached the point to where it can enhance agility, strength, and durability," Villetta spoke, "in fact, there are those in Britannia's K Project who can teleport within a certain radius."

"Bullshit!"

And then Villetta disappeared in a cloud if blue mist, causing Jane to shoot up from the couch.

"What? Wait? WHAT?!"

And then she suddenly reappeared on the couch in one hand a pair of beers, in the other a small tablet, causing Shepard to nearly jump out of her skin.

"Here, you might need this to plug that massive gap in your head," she offered with a small laugh as she held out a beer. It was highly irregular for an instructor to offer alcohol, but after what she had just seen, she could make an exemption for this as she took it, popping the cap and taking a swig, finding that it was a good cap to the gelato for some reason.

"How," she gasped, looking at the Baroness like she had two heads.

"To be perfectly honest, the concept is rather simple, if a little different because of the brute force approach of the technique. But it is not recommended for anyone below Witch or Wizard in Britannia for a damn good reason. You first have to compress enough dark energy into a singular point fast enough to where as you reduce your mass to zero, you release the energy and literally are propelled to where you want to go. The level of concentration and timing is paramount to do it because if you muff it up, it will hurt like a bitch."

"Witch? Wizard? Hurting like a bitch," Suzaku asked, his brow furrowing.

"Imagine if you will if you overdid the compression? What if you misjudged the distance? Or maybe you compressed it to such a point to where you could actually feel the kick? You mess it up badly enough you end up splattered into paste or you feel like you just got kicked by a mule. That's why all of the trainees in it are placed into biotic bubbles so it's not fatal until they gain a mastery of it…if they ever gain a mastery of it."

Villetta took a quick swig of her own beer, her eyes looking past the two of them as if thinking of something.

"Britannia's military designations are…unique to say the least," she cracked a small smirk, "depending on your specialization and capabilities, there is the K route, which is the equivalent of your 'N' Program. However, where we differ is in the biotic classes. While you classify based upon the implant you have as biotics, we base ours upon mastery and combat experience. Mage, Magus, Sorcerer/Sorceress, Wizard/Witch, Warlock/Archmage, each of these classifications are critical for the biotics because it is a badge of honor for them."

"And what are you," Shepard asked, polishing off her beer as she watched as the woman leaned back on the couch and looked to the ceiling.

"I would be classified a Witch," she admitted finally, "I would probably be higher up, but family came first."

"But you're only twenty-six," Suzaku noted.

"You know it's impolite to blurt out a lady's age, Cadet," she replied with a twinkle in her eye, "biotics in Britannia actually get on the field earlier than the other rank and file, I was busy fighting for the Empire at sixteen, dealing with pirates, criminals, and other problems out on the colonies," she then shrugged.

Sighing, her eyes darted over to the clock before she picked up the pad and looked it over, her fingers started to dance over it.

"Since you're so interested in biotics, Shepard, I think you might enjoy observing my classes, I've already cleared it with Captain Vakarian, he's actually pleased you have shown some initiative, though if you ever confront him about it, he'll deny his scaly ass off."

What? Vakarian actually said something nice about her? That was shocking. But to observe biotics class? Could she do it with a Britannian? She looked up from her beer to Villetta. She had to admit, the Instructor was not what she had expected, hell, she was the complete opposite of any instructor she had encountered yet.

"This won't interfere with anything," she asked.

"No, it won't. Who knows you might just become a biotic from it?"

"What," she stammered, looking at Suzaku who had a smirk on his face then back to Villetta who had a smile on her face as she finished off her bottle of beer.

"I was kidding," she said with a small chuckle.

* * *

**1526 Local Time**

**January 25th, 2174 (17 AH)**

**The Academy**

**Pendragon, Holy Britannian Empire**

**Earth, Sol, Local Cluster**

Miranda Lawson watched on, affecting an interest she didn't possess, as the awards for this year's Royal Britannian Military Academy graduates were presented. Sure, it might be a little amusing that every single award went to one person, but she knew if she'd been there, she probably would have won them, so why should she care? She was only here on a routine assignment, attending as Princess Cornelia's OSI liaison—just in case there were any recommendations for the OSI, and more importantly, to see if any of them were worthy of joining—one she didn't really expect much out of.

Hell, the most interesting thing about the proceedings was that every time Cadet Shepard walked up to the stage to accept yet another award, he would bend down slightly and whisper something to a classmate as he passed, a smirk on his face. Whatever he was saying, which he matched by grinning or winking at that same classmate, was clearly annoying the other man, because he was clearly holding his discipline only by the skin of his teeth.

She didn't know why, and she didn't really care – clearly Shepard was simply arrogant, even if that arrogance did seem to be somewhat deserved compared to the rest of his year—seriously, how incompetent did they have to be to let _one man_ win every single award?—and he wanted to rub in his success to the other. It was a view Cornelia clearly shared, based on the way the princess sighed every so often when Shepard went up yet again and made his habitual pause.

They were just coming to the end of the graduation when the Knight of Twelve walked up to the two of them, just as Shepard went past yet again. Cornelia kept to form and sighed again, but what the Knight of Twelve did after she glanced quizzically at the princess, then over to where her gaze was, and then back again was most certainly surprising. She smiled slightly and leant over, whispering so only Cornelia and Miranda could hear.

"He's going through with it _now_? Well, I'll be damned. The kid _did_ learn his lesson, after all."

"What are you talking about, Monica?" Cornelia asked.

"Shepard. I'd advise you to keep watching, your Highness, because I have a feeling things are about to get _interesting_."

This time, when Shepard went up for what hopefully was the last award, Miranda noticed he made a subtle movement with the arm he controlled his omni-tool with; she knew almost every gesture and command off by heart, and from what she saw, he was… turning on a microphone?

The cadet walked up, towards where the man he'd been constantly harassing throughout the ceremony stood, and once again paused before he went past. His words weren't audible, which made Miranda wonder what the microphone was for… until the other man's voice echoed out as the presentations abruptly halted.

"At least I'm not related to a traitor, asshole. Hell, it probably runs in the family, just like your sister ran to the Alliance."

Faster than even Miranda would have believed possible, Shepard's arm blurred out, his gauntlet already plucked off as it smashed into the other man's cheek. And, just as if everyone watching hadn't already got the message, this time Shepard's voice actually rang out.

"Formal combat," he intoned.

"What?" the other man asked, still rubbing his jaw almost in disbelief.

"You have insulted Britannia for the last time, Calares. You dare sit here, before Princess Cornelia, Commander-in-Chief of the army we intend to serve in and before the Knight of Twelve, the head of the Academy and the one who has _absolute power_ over who graduates and who doesn't, and accuse me of being a traitor? I would let the insult slide, except you are not questioning my honor. You are questioning the honor of the Princess. The honor of Lady Kruzsewski. You are questioning the honor of Britannia's _chosen_."

With that, Shepard turned away from the still-shocked cadet and towards the Knight of Twelve—_he knows his protocol well_, Miranda thought idly, _not many would realize that she's the one in control here, not Cornelia_—and spoke.

"My Lady, do I have your permission?"

Monica nodded slowly, and only Miranda's long experience of reading faces caught the smile she was trying to hide. Clearly she'd been expecting this. With that, the rest of the Cadets cleared out of parade formation; they might be in the Space Age, but a duel was and always would be a sacred thing in the Britannian mind-set. They all knew the formal procedures – Miranda was very good at judging distances, and as far as she could, all of the other cadets were definitely past the minimum radius a duel required to give its combatants room to move.

Shepard walked to one side of the impromptu ring before turning to face his opponent, who had by now recovered enough to equally move to the other side, as the rules dictated. As she watched, Miranda wondered idly what weapons they'd choose – anything with a projectile was not allowed, but apart from that, it was pretty much open season as far as what was permitted.

The challenged, Calares, obviously knew exactly what weapon he wanted – once they were in position, he instructed another cadet to fetch his mono-molecular blade from his room. Not too many Britannians trained with a sword during the academy, nowadays, not in the military age they were living in, but with the right sort of weapon it was possible to be effective, especially if you were usually the sort of soldier to carry a shotgun, it was usually once a soldier became a Knight that they took to learning how to use a sword, so for Calares to have one either was because he was a noble by birth or because he intended to be a Knight as soon as possible and rise up the ranks, and judging by his haughty composure, Miranda hazarded that the man was a noble.

The allocated minute in which the duellists could select their weapons came and went, and Shepard still stood there in silence. Intrigued, Miranda raised an eyebrow – did he seriously mean to fight his opponent unarmed, against a sword designed to cut through hardsuits?

"Where's your sword, Shepard? Forgotten how to use it?" Calares taunted.

Shepard's only response was a come-hither gesture; despite herself, Miranda was impressed. He did cut an intimidating figure, staring down his opponent and basically telling him to shut up and fight, even unarmed. He started to walk towards Calares, strolling with a casual nonchalance, as if he didn't have a care in the world. Despite his bravado, his opponent was advancing almost cautiously, wary of some form of trap. After all, Miranda herself had noted that while Shepard hadn't called for a weapon, technically if he already had it on him he didn't have to, and he hadn't denied possessing one either.

Calares attacked first, a bisecting slash aimed to cut Shepard in half. His opponent swayed out of the way, leaning backwards and letting the blade slice the air in front of his chest, expression never changing. A small part of Miranda was jealous – she'd been trained in close combat for years, but she didn't think even she could have pulled that off so smoothly.

Calares attacked again, moving forward in a flurry of blows, and Shepard exploded into motion. He spun around the first, moving with impossible speed—watching closely, Miranda saw a faint blue glow around his body, and wondered how the hell a mere cadet had figured out the necessary control to reduce the mass of his own _body_—and lashed out, elbow smashing into the side of Calares' head.

His opponent staggered, and Shepard struck, hands wrapping around Calares' wrists. He made an odd wrenching motion, almost as if he was snapping a whip, and with an audible crack and a scream of pain, Calares' sword dropped to the floor, the man himself almost following it.

Rather than taking advantage of the situation, Shepard instead picked up his sword and literally snapped it over his knee. Casually ignoring Calares, who was still recovering from the brutal blow to his temple and the fact he'd just had both his wrists broken, Shepard strolled towards the stage, where the Knight of Twelve stood alongside Cornelia and Miranda and, with a bow, places the two main pieces of the sword before her (or, at least, as close to her as he could get without leaving the boundaries of the duel).

By this time, Calares had recovered, and his own body glowed blue; that was all the warning Miranda had before he vanished, charging Shepard. For a second, Miranda wondered why he hadn't done that before, but then she realised that, as a biotic himself, Shepard would have been able to counter it, or at least negate the damage and force if he'd been watching. Which is why it made sense to charge him when his back was turned, even if it wasn't particularly honorable.

What didn't make sense, however, was that Calares never _hit_ Shepard. One moment Shepard was straightening up from his bow, the next he was somehow twisting through space and time, vanishing in a flurry of azure and purple sparks before reappearing behind the man who'd just charged him. For perhaps the first time in her life, Miranda's jaw dropped. She knew only a handful of people outside Cerberus capable of teleporting like that, and all of them had years of heavy biotic training. What was a _cadet_ doing with those sort of skills?

Evidently the rest of the crowd—and Calares—had no idea either; judging from the crowd's reaction, Miranda figured Shepard had been hiding the skill since he'd learned it. She couldn't help but be impressed - her first impression of this particular cadet had most certainly been replaced, and she thought she just might actually have a recommendation to the OSI, and through them, the Hellhound program.

Turning her attention back to the duel, she was just in time to see Shepard dislocate both of Calares' shoulders before his opponent could react; Calares screamed in pain, but Shepard's only response was to wrench Calares' already-dislocated shoulders backward, lock his arms behind his back, and in a move as brutal as it was theatrical, literally toss him over his shoulder before piledriving him to the floor.

Calares hit the floor with a sickening thud, and from the way his body flopped, Shepard had either knocked him unconscious or killed him; both legal within the rules of the duel. That said, Miranda hoped he hadn't killed him, simply because Britannia did need every soldier it could get. Her worries were assuaged when she saw the faint movement of Calares' chest, so she returned her attention to studying Shepard, who was straightening up from where he'd been hunched over from his follow-through.

The man bowed to Cornelia and Monica before returning to exactly where he'd been standing in the presentation beforehand, adopting a parade rest when he got there. The rest of the cadets slowly filed back as well; a duel may be a spectacle, but they were here for their graduation in front of a member of the Royal Family and a Knight of the Round. That took precedence over everything else, which was why nobody had even bothered to move Calares' body - it wasn't in the way, so it didn't matter.

The rest of the ceremony passed relatively quickly; it turned out the last award Shepard went up for actually _was_ the last award of the presentation, and so in less than an hour Cornelia welcomed the cadets to the Britannian military proper; all that remained was their assignments. Most of those were basic, things like colonial defense, serving on a particular ship or, in the case of some exceptional graduates, entry into the K program. Miranda wasn't as surprised now that there actually were some who had qualified, since it was now clear to her that Shepard hadn't won the awards by virtue of everyone else being incompetent, but because he was just that damn good.

Before they could announce his name, Miranda turned to Cornelia.

"Princess, I wish to request that Shepard be transferred from the Navy to the OSI, in service of the Empire." Had anyone been listening, they would have thought her being unnecessarily formal, or perhaps a tad sycophantic, especially with the last segment. In reality, the words 'in service of the Empire', when spoken by someone such as her, meant only one thing - Cerberus. She might have been phrasing it like a request, but with those five words attached, it was far more like a statement of fact. Cerberus wanted Shepard, and they would have him.

"Permission granted," Cornelia answered.

Miranda had already prepared the transfer details on her omnitool, and so it was a simple matter of overriding the security protocols with her own clearance and then transferring them over. Which is why it came as no surprise to her when the announcer read out "Johnathan Shepard, OSI."

She didn't know it then, but those three words began one of the greatest stories in the galaxy, and one she'd be part of from almost the beginning.

* * *

A/N:

Twas the night before release, and each in their house,  
All the readers were anxious, Especially Dynamesmouse.  
The browsers were refreshed often with care,  
In hopes that the new chapter soon would be there;

The readers were gathered around their screen,  
While visions of Space Combat reigned supreme;  
Hurriedly the writers worked to meet the deadline,  
Praying and hoping they could make it on time.

The rest of this tale has yet to be written,  
Stay tuned to check if they do; HEY! Look a kitten!

And that's it for that chapter, a little larger and a bit later than usual, but here it is. Leave a review if you would kindly, every review gives us a good idea if we should continue writing in this way or change it up to improve it.

Until next time.


	8. Graduations

**Chapter 6**

**Graduations**

**2174 (17 AH):**

Elanus Risk Control Services headquarters on Illium is bombed, killing the board and several key personnel. An organization referring to itself as "The Patriots" claims responsibility and release a statement outlining their "Raison d'être" as taking a stance against the 'corruption of all species'. At first it is believed to be a human organization until recordings show the bombers are Batarians and Vorcha.

Binary Helix headquarters on Noveria is bombed, claiming most of the board. The Patriots claim responsibility. This time the bombers are identified as human.

* * *

**0911 Local Time**

**June 22nd, 2174 (17 AH)**

**Dinas Emrys**

**Avalon, ****_CLASSIFIED_**

It was the time that they had both looked forward to and feared at the same time: the day in which Kallen would become a subject of Project Ascension. Where she would either ascend and become a recipient of Geass, or she would die a horrible and excruciating death…or worse.

The subject of said distressing event looked over at Lelouch vi Britannia, Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire and her boyfriend for months now, as he looked out the window of their aircar at one of several escorting gunships that flew in formation around them. If his hand wasn't wrapping hers in a firm grip she would have believed that he was ignoring her because of what was coming.

It had been a month ago when she had finally decided that she would go through with it in spite of the risks. She could still remember Lelouch's reaction, it had been both sweet and disconcerting how he seemed to urge her against it so hard in spite that he had intended that as the future for her in the very beginning. Maybe it was because he truly loved her that he didn't want to risk it. It had taken several arguments and even a fight before Lelouch had finally relented to her whims. After that he had done almost everything he could with her as they counted down the days until she had the procedure.

Last night they had simply sat outside on the balcony looking out to the small lake that was situated behind the estate. Hardly a word had been exchanged between the two, simply the joy of each others company sustaining them through the fact that last night would be the last that they had together until they both fell asleep.

Not many people got to see this part of Lelouch, an awkward romantic who didn't shower her with gifts and remind her of who he was, instead doing such simple things. A walk, a quiet dinner, a movie, it was those things that endeared him to her slowly but surely.

And here he was, her other hand landing on top of his to give him a reassuring squeeze, causing him to look back to her in silent question.

She just merely gave him a smile and a shake of her head that caused his lips to quirk up in response. That simple silent exchange fraught with so much more than any observer could imagine.

"Approaching the Darwin Institute," the pilot communicated, causing the both of them to stiffen at the news that their quiet time was coming to an end.

"Kallen," Lelouch started, only for him to stop as she squeezed his hand, knowing exactly what he wanted to say.

"Don't," she whispered as she felt the aircar transition to vertical flight, "I made my decision and I stand by it."

Lelouch let out a soft sigh before nodding, his eyes not leaving hers.

"I just wanted to try one more time. I don't want you going into this thinking you need to, you are fine-"

"And if I don't then there will be no one to stop-"

"You don't need to do it because of that Kallen, we can-"

She leaned forward and pressed her lips on his, silencing his denial in his throat.

Breaking away from him, she caressed his face.

"I'm content, Lelouch, this is my choice. You're not forcing me and if something happens I know you will carry on. So let me do what I wish."

Lelouch finally bowed his head in mute acceptance as aircar came to a stop. He then reached over and opened the door to the car to step out, holding his hand out to her which she took and was helped up out of the car.

They then separated, even though they were in a relationship it was a well-guarded secret because they had both agreed that it would create a situation with his subjects reading too much into it, but also to avoid too much strain upon her. Being treated as a potential Empress when out in public was something she never wanted considering the reactions of his people, she didn't even want the treatment even if she were to become Empress.

So as they walked in, Kallen assumed a position behind him while Jeremiah, who had just jumped out of the gunship he had been piloting situated himself to Lelouch's front as they moved to enter the facility, the doors parting way for them as they entered.

After going through another set of doors and being quickly checked over by the guards they proceeded into the elevator that descended deeper into the facility before it came to a stop and the door opened. C.C. was standing there with her arms crossed, gone was the usual knowing smirk that she always seemed to have, instead it was all professional as she motioned to them.

"This way," she declared, turning to lead them further into the facility, choosing to not say anything else, leading them through another door and into a small lounge.

"Lelouch, Orange, I need to ask you to wait here while we do the procedure," C.C. stated simply, motioning her hand to the luxurious seats.

"No, I-"

"Lelouch, just do it," Kallen interrupted him in exasperation, "this is C.C.'s show now and I don't want you inadvertently interupting the procedure."

_And killing me_, was the unsaid portion of that statement, causing Lelouch to nod.

"Well then," the green-haired witch stated, "we'll be waiting for you in the procedure room, Kallen, join me whenever you are ready."

With that, C.C. went through the door and went on her way, Kallen turned to follow after her when just as she was about to go through the door, Lelouch's hand reached out and grasped her shoulder with a tenderness most of the world would never know he possessed.

"Kallen...," he paused as she turned to him, collecting himself before continuing, his eyes flashing into the telltale signature of Geass and before she could protest, he continued, "you have to live."

It was one great rush, forced out both as a heartfelt wish and desperate plea. His words were heavy, poignant with both the command, unspoken meanings, and nervous anticipation. It was the very wish that he yearned for more than anything else when he made the command.

And when it was done, her mind absorbing the command, she snapped back and could not help but be enraged by the audacity that he would use _that_ power upon her for his own gain. Yet just as she was about to scream at him for betraying her trust, she stopped as she saw the fear that was laid bare before her eyes, his eyes a doorway to a soul that was even more tormented than her own, that desperately didn't want to lose anyone anymore.

Instead of saying anything, she simply leaned in on him and gave her answer and her thanks, kissing him once, briefly, before turning and walking through the door as she disentangled herself from his grasp. As the door closed behind her, she missed Lelouch vi Britannia, the almighty Zero, lean up against the wall and sigh, hands balling into fists as he fought the urge to second-guess his latest gambit and go in there nonetheless and cancel the procedure entirely, an operation that would either bring her Ascension...or kill her.

In this, like so many things where he was concerned, there was no middle ground. Either she would survive or she would not. He didn't quite know what he'd do if his Geass failed and it was the latter.

000000

"Alright, Kallen," C.C. started as she came into the room now dressed in a hospital gown, "I need you to lay down onto the table. We'll then begin the procedure whenever you are ready."

She could only nod, her breath had been robbed by the chilled air she now resided in that caused a rise in her flesh, but also the several other scientists and doctors that were gathered around the table manning consoles and stations. It was a little unnerving to say the least for her, even with all of the mental preparation she had made for just this event.

Stepping forward, her legs now feeling like they were encased in cement, she came to the table and proceeded to lay down on it, C.C. giving her a wan smile before walking over and proceeding to secure her to the table, activating the various panels that would restrain her for the coming procedure.

"How bad is it going to hurt," she could only ask as she looked at the golden-eyed scientist.

"Worse than anything you could ever imagine," the limette replied as she grabbed Kallen's hand and squeezed it gently. She then stepped away from her and over to a container and retrieved a small item and held it out to Kallen's face.

"Bite down," she stated simply, Kallen's eyes widening, "so you don't bite off your tongue."

Nodding gently, she opened her mouth and proceeded to bite down on the object that C.C. placed in it, her eyes looking anywhere but the bright lights, not in panic but in silent anticipation.

"We shall begin the procedure," C.C. then called out, and the room because a bustle off activity.

0000000

"Your Majesty, you need to sit down, pacing is not going to make the procedure go any faster or better."

"And sitting on my ass will," Lelouch snapped at Gottwald, watching him wither at his ferocity of his Emperor.

Sighing, he ran his hands through his hair, already messing up the ebony locks and it had only been a few minutes.

His head snapped to the sound of the door to the lounge opening as his sister stepped in, a worried expression on her face as Sayoko Shinozaki, her protector, silently slid in behind her. Sayoko had been Nunnally's protector and maid since their mother's assassination, Jeremiah having personally handpicked her from Britannia's OSI before they had left. It was a decision that Lelouch had not regretted since, providing a maternal figure for his sister in addition to the protection she gave. In a couple years Nunnally would be given an actual Knight to protect her so Sayoko could go back to work as an infiltration specialist for him.

"Big brother, I'm sorry the council meeting ran late," she started with a huff, "Baron Czerny wanted my personal opinion on additional funding for an expansion to the Stalker production line."

_Czerny_, Lelouch thought with a flash of irritation, for all of his brilliance in the design of the Stalker Frigate, was treading dangerous water going to his sister to get him to get additional funding for improving the ship design even further.

"And what did you tell him?"

"That it would be unwise to continue talking to me about military matters when you are im charge of it. I might have mentioned how protective you are of me and how I might misinterpret his advances as something they are not."

Lelouch froze still, his eyes searching hers in stunned shock. Just where had the innocent young girl that merely wanted piggyback rides, to serve tea, and fold origami cranes gone.

_She grew up_, he thought with a hint of despair.

But Nunnally looked past him towards the door.

"Is she in there," she asked in a whisper, earning a nod from Lelouch.

Nunnally had already come to see Kallen as a type of surrogate big sister since they had first met. Whenever Kallen had time off, she would spend it with Nunnally getting to know her and serving in almost every role she could to help Nunnally. Lelouch had at first tried to stop it, but when he had seen how Nunnally had morphed from a girl that while she was happy, almost seemed to have a sad air to her, to a confident and vivacious young teen who had assumed much of the public governing role that he should be handling.

The fact that Nunnally was here and in just as bad of shape as he was because of what Kallen was doing was a credit to the effect that the redhead had upon her.

"Yeah," Lelouch replied, "she just went in a few moments ago."

That was all that she needed to know as she leaned in and hugged him.

"She'll be fine big brother. She hasn't let anyone down before and she won't now."

He wrapped her up in a hug in response, he couldn't help but try and accept her words as truth, in spite of the fact that everything screamed at him that it will go wrong. If anything, he was the very epitome of a cynical pragmatist, a decade of experience had molded his perception to where he expected anything to go wrong and was pleasantly surprised when it went right. It was the only thing that truly kept him from his despair the more he thought of it.

Releasing her he gave her the warmest smile he could.

"Thank you, Nunnally," he stated simply.

She returned the smile as she nodded, getting the unsaid meanings in what he was saying.

0000000

"Preparations are complete."

"Very well," C.C. replied to the technician, focusing on Kallen with worry, "are you ready, Kallen?"

The redhead stared at her for a few moments with the implement in her mouth before letting out a sigh as she closed her eyes and nodded.

_Brave girl._

"Begin the operation. Hellis, attach the nutrient feed to Subject K. Reynolds, proceed with nanomachine insertion system placement."

She had spent the last week preparing Kallen for this, running her through the various events and procedures necessary. Barbarian as it was, there was no anesthesia, she would have to suffer through the entire procedure without anything to hold back the pain.

C.C. watched as the machine was moved into position over Kallen, several large syringes positioned over her.

"Last chance Kallen."

Kallen simply shook her head.

"Very well, begin the procedure."

0000000

Kallen could only watch as a final strap was added to her forehead as the syringes began their descent, unfurling thenselves from their rest position to position themselves in place to where they could complete the operation.

Taking position, they proceeded to slide the needles into her neck, her arms, and her legs. The feel of the cold instruments just sitting there sent a chill through her as she held still.

"Insertion complete."

"Very well," there was C.C. again, "inject the nanomachines."

As the command was made she could feel them start entering into her bloodstream, it was the oddest sensation, entirely wrong yet it was happening.

"Injection complete. Withdrawing probes...withdrawal complete."

_That wasn't so hard, _a part of Kallen thought even as another part of her chastised it. She knew what came next was the worst part.

"Beginning activation of nanomachines in three...two...one...zero."

And the entire world erupted into white-hot agony.

0000000

Lelouch was back to pacing now, with a cigarette dangling from his lips. Nunnally had attempted to get him to try and stop it, but one look had quickly killed any further attempt at intervening in her brother's health at the moment.

Frankly, she should have known better to make it an issue and criticize him at the moment. Lelouch had already exceeded what would be considered a nervous wreck and was teetering on nervous breakdown, only the cigarette seeming to hold him back from doing anything stupid.

It had been like this for several minutes, the only sound of Lelouch's shoes scuffing over the surface of the carpet as he continued his nervous pacing.

This all ended at the shriek of metal bending beyond its elasticity. Everyone's heads snapped to the door that led to the where Kallen was being operated on as it bent in towards them.

0000000

C.C. felt groggy as her senses returned, only one eye opening to the sight of mad red energy flying around Kallen as she let out another blood-curdling scream, her body arched upwards from the table in response to the scream.

Reaching up with her right hand, she grabbed the sheet of metal that had been part of the injection machine that was lodged into her head, pulling hard to extract it even as she felt her body slowly start to regenerate itself, the various little pieces slowly being removed.

She was still in a daze as she brought herself to her feet.

Everything had gone to hell in a handbasket the second they had injected the nanomachines into Kallen. Her body had reacted completely outside of the parameters as her biotic seem to run completely out of control, the only warning she had was enough to order people to take cover, but wasn't enough for those that weren't clear of the situation.

Currently the entire room looked as if a bomb had gone off, and in the middle of it, struggling against restraints that were starting to give was Kallen, her body trying to twist and contort as the nanomachines ripped through her body, repurposing, redesigning, and renovating every single structure, working to improve almost every single facet to her. And all of this was because of that reaction when pain thresholds were exceeded and the body was literally _eaten_ from the inside and _rebuilt_ at the same time.

It couldn't just get any worse, everything was falling apart and she didn't know what to make of it other than she had underestimated the effect it would have on a natural biotic. She should have known, Lelouch and herself were never biotics to begin with. Lelouch had been completely redesigned to be a biotic from scratch by the machines.

So why didn't she even think of that?!

All of her thought came to a stop as the doors to the operating room were ripped from their hinges and Lelouch came rushing in.

_I just had to think it couldn't get worse._

"Lelouch," she yelled, trying to prevent him from doing exactly what she knew what he was going to do, but it was too late, her body was still healing and repairing itself, she couldn't move in time. She could only watch as Lelouch pushed himself through a wave of wild biotic energy and get to her side, leaning down, but before he could touch her he stopped.

It was as the howl of Kallen's biotic energy lashed out at everything, this time ripping the injector completely off and onto the ground that Lelouch placed himself beside her head...and all she could see was his eyes had begun to water even as the Geass sigils blazed the brightest she had ever seen.

0000000

"Kallen. Wake up." voice drifted out to her from the sea of pain. suddenly the pain receded to a dull ache as she opened her eyes. "Come on, Wake up sleepy head." the voice said as she felt a hand shake her shoulders. She looked over to where the voice was coming from and saw Naoto!

"Naoto!" Kallen exclaimed before practically flying from her bed and wrapping her arms around her older brother "You're alive." she whispered as she felt the warm familiar form of her brother, felt his heart beating as she embraced him.

"Of course I'm alive, I'm not the dingbat who throws herself into fights at the drop of a hat. What brought this on?" he asked her.

"You threw yourself onto a live grenade to save me!" She exclaimed as she pushed him back to arm's length. At this Naoto chuckled "So you had a nightmare. It's OK everyone is safe."

"So there isn't a war?"

"Of course not; with the Cycle there is no need for war, don't you remember silly?" Naoto reminded her.

"What about Lelouch? Is he safe," Kallen asked suddenly at this Naoto looked confused for a second "Why wouldn't he be? He is the Britannian Emperor. Isn't he coming over to meet Mom and Pop today?"

"What!?" Kallen screeched.

"By the Cycle; You forgot that too? I must've gone overboard with the sparring match yesterday. Anyway you better get ready." he said as he walked toward the door. "Oh and Kallen?"

"Yes?" she responded.

"If Lelouch does anything you don't like just tell me; I don't care if he's Emperor, By the Cycle he will suffer if he hurts you."

"Don't you dare!" Kallen cried back with a smile on her face, though it fell on deaf ears. Naoto was being as over-protective as always.

0000000

"Kallen! Are you ready yet? Your boyfriend just landed outside!" she heard her mother yell, Kallen glanced outside her window and saw Lelouch exit the Air Limo with Jeremiah acting as his guard. "I'm not done with my hair!" Kallen shouted in a panic. She quickly proceeded to finish her hair into a somewhat presentable style and rushed down the stairs to the front door were her family were waiting.

Naoto elbowed her in the side; "You took an entire Cycle to get ready Kallen." he told her with a grin before they proceeded to head outside to meet with Lelouch to head to dinner.

Kallen was the first to step outside and she heard Lelouch mumble "By the Cycle." as she walked up to him.

"Hello? Earth to Lelouch?" she said as she waved her hand in front of his face.

After stuttering for a bit Lelouch said "Sorry Kallen, but you look absolutely stunning."

Blushing at his comment Kallen redirected the topic of the conversation "Anyway... I'd like you to meet my parents."

"Emperor Lelouch – it's an honor to finally meet you!" mom said to Lelouch before dad said "I am honored to make your acquaintance again my liege." before both swept into graceful Genuflects

"It is wonderful to meet you too, Lord and Lady Stadtfeld, and please don't bow there's no need."

_'Wait this can't be real! Lelouch would never say that!'_ Kallen realized and the scene before her dissolved into a sea of black.

**"YOU CAN HAVE THAT. ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS SERVE THE CYCLE AND WE WILL HELP YOU MAKE THAT WORLD."**

"It's not _Real_!"

**"YOU CAN MAKE IT REAL; WE CAN HELP YOU, GIVE YOU THE POWER YOU NEED. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS SERVE THE CYCLE"**

"No!"

**"YES."**

"I refuse to be a slave! I would rather die!"

**"SO BE IT."**

And then the world returned to mind-numbing agony.

0000000

"C.C.," Lelouch snapped, recovering from being thrown halfway across the room by the latest of Kallen's biotic pulses, he threw a massive barrier around Kallen, throwing his energy into it even as it fought to contain the energy being projected by Kallen, "get everyone out of the room now and evacuate this floor."

"Lelouch."

"_NOW_!"

0000000

**"dO YoU SUbmIt."**

The dark voice demanded from her for the fourth time... but it sounded weaker as tough her resistance was wearing it down this alone gave Kallen all the incentive she needed to redouble her efforts.

"No!" she screamed back before being plunged into the sea again.

0000000

By now the room had been cleared out and Lelouch was now alone with Kallen, C.C. having evacuated everyone even over the protestations of Jeremiah and his sister. But he wouldn't have it any other way, if they had stayed they would have been killed in the process if he had lost the containment on her. But it was fast approaching the fact that he was wearing out, his body protesting the exertion of energy just to contain everything Kallen was throwing out.

"Kallen," he murmured, his eyes focused on her as she arced again, a pulse of biotic energy colliding with the barrier and he could feel it balloon again but this time it did not returned back to normal, his body on fire as it entered into dangerous territory that he knew was the warning signs that the nanomachines in his body had exhausted all the energy they could and was now converting his body to energy to feed them.

He knew exactly what was happening to her. It was something he had never shared with anyone, not even C.C.. He had hinted it to Kallen when he had finally admitted his feelings and why he trusted her. The intoxication and temptation that had been presented by his own deepest darkest desires offered by the machines that had been injected into him. He had a feeling that was the real reason that Mao had fallen.

But what could he say to C.C. when he wasn't even sure if what he had experienced had not been a hallucination of his mind playing tricks on him. It was only Kallen that had proven it, to his dismay and horror, because there was distinct possibility that she would submit to it because the world it offered was infinitely better than what he could possibly offer.

It had offered him his mother, probably the one thing that he desired more than anything. She had been there and he had interested with her, without the specter of war or Turian aggression, instead they were all alive and happy. It was the perfect world.

There was so much he wanted to say, but the words refused to come to him. Instead, he could only watch and silently plead that she would just wake up, even as he realized it was becoming futile, blood starting to drip from his nose as he ground his teeth at the pain that was starting to eat at him.

Instead, the only words that came to him were whispered in desperation and pain.

"Kallen, you can beat this."

0000000

**"SuuBmitt... AnD T-thE P-pAin StOo**oooo..."

"I did it," Kallen stated tiredly, "I beat you."

Yet as the relief flooded in from the lack of excruciating pain, she could not help but feel a tinge of sadness as she slowly retreated, the one final image sent as a taunt to her burned into the back of her brain.

It was an image of her with Lelouch, but surrounded by not only her family, but Lelouch's as well, Marianne in formal attire, it was like she was looking through the eye of the photographer. They were all dressed for a wedding, her and Lelouch's, she was dressed in an elegant flowing gown in white and gold livery, while Lelouch was dressed like the Emperor, an ornate latticework of white, gold, red, and dark blue.

They were all happy and smiling.

0000000

Outside Kallen's screaming had stopped, no more pulses of energy were coming, and she was laying still on the table. Lelouch focused on the form of his girlfriend that when she spoke, he missed the first half of it.

"I beat you." Kallen breathed out before smirking and letting another breath out. What terrified Lelouch though was the fact that she didn't inhale.

He could feel himself stagger forward, his body resisting every moment, exhausted, the nanomachines no longer making demands on his body, part of him wondering just how much damage had been done to himself even as he came to a stop by her side, bracing himself against the table Kallen laid upon.

"Kallen," he asked quietly, his eyes searching her even as she had a serene smile, as if she were at peace, as if she were-

"No," he murmured, _she just couldn't be_, he thought_, after all of this shit, she's_-

It was as that thought flitted through his mind she finally inhaled, her chest rising up as it brought in badly needed oxygen, her body rousing itself. A few moments of slow, level breathing, and then she slowly opened her eyes, his sigiled eyes meting her newly awakened eyes, complete with their own Geass sigil.

"Lelouch," she asked.

"Yeah," he replied, feeling even heavier now, his body only wanting to rest in spite of his insistence to keep himself up.

"This isn't a dream?"

He chuckled, leaning down to her and kissed her on the forehead, ignoring the blood he placed on from his lips.

"Does it seem that way," he could only ask whimsically.

"...No," she could only respond, before wrapping her arms around him, pulling him down and burying her head into his neck.

That was all his body wrote, finally giving out as he staggered, his body becoming lax and finding all the strength he needed in the woman that he had come to love and would do anything for.

"Kallen," he murmured sheepishly into her hair as he brought his hand up to caress her head, it was about the only thing he could do right now, "would you mind pulling me up."

The redhead pulled away from him for a moment, taking note of how he looked, then their surroundings, her face paling even further than it already had. Realizing Lelouch's state, she then pulled him up onto the table, thankful that it was large enough for two, even though it wasn't designed for that. She arranged their bodies, taking the time to lay Lelouch down flat onto it while she laid on her side, looking at him in concern at the blood that was beginning to dry on him. It took every part of her not to start panicking at his war-torn look.

"H-How'd you end up like this," She asked him.

"You pack quite the punch Kallen." he replied, his eyes falling shut, "I could barely contain you."

She looked at him for a few moments, taking note of his exhaustion, but also the fact that everything around him seemed to be encased in a purple hue while he had a red outline.

"Lelouch?"

"Hm," he opened his eyes again, looking towards her.

"Why am I seeing everything around us in purple and you outlined in red?"

"Oh. Probably your Geass," he replied, letting his eyes slide shut, yeah, sleep sounded good right about now, "we'll go over it in a bit, but first, I think I need a nap."

She opened her mouth wanting to say something more, but instead, she realized it was probably about right for him. If what she was seeing was true, Lelouch had thrown everything into preventing her from doing even more damage than she had already done. If she could have done that, then what Lelouch had done must have exhausted him.

Besides, she had to admit, sleep sounded somewhat attractive right now.

Deciding on the course of action, she chose to make herself comfortable, molding her body to his side, it seemed Lelouch was already asleep that he didn't even register he contact. Taking advantage of that situation, she laid her head upon his chest, the sound of his heartbeat easily filling in her ear, letting it lull her into her own slumber.

Within a couple of minutes, she had also joined Lelouch in slumber.

0000000

It was nearly a half an hour later, that C.C. had come back down to the level, intent on seeing the fallout of what had happened with Kallen and Lelouch. Part of her was terrified that she had lost her best friend's son because she had underestimated the effect the nanomachines would have on an actual biotic. And then she had been too damn week to stop Kallen from ripping everything apart.

Sometimes it was times like this she cursed her own immortality and the secrets she kept. She wasn't sure she could have contained Kallen, but she sure could have thought of something to solve the damn problem with Marianne's son throwing himself into the mix.

Taking a deep breath, she settled, _well, if push comes to shove, I'll activate Lazarus and fix this damn mess!_

The door opened to the level an she stepped out, her yellow eyes scanning the area with scientific curiosity, noting how the lounge area looked like it had been through a storm, but it was relatively untouched compared to the Ascension chamber.

Filing that away for her studies of artificial gravitic energy flow through solid objects, she braced herself as she walked through the lounge and into the chamber, coming to a stop in shock at the sight before her.

Sighing in relief at the sight of Lelouch and Kallen wrapped together on the table that had been used for Kallen's ascension, she stepped further in, taking note of the surroundings before focusing back upon them and how they were snuggled against one another, a content look on both of their faces.

Now, the scientist part of her would have just written it off and moved on, intent on taking notes on her observations. But the slumbering prankster and troll inside her awakened at the _perfect_ blackmail opportunity presented to her, the image of the two teens embracing one another like this was just too much to pass up, that and the fact that Nunnally might try and figure out a way to kill her if she did not record this for posterity.

Reaching up to her wrist, she activated the omnitool there, watching it come to life with a certain amount of amusement as the two lovebirds were completely clueless as to what was about to happen to them. Satisfied with it's status, she then proceeded to both record a few minutes of the two of them together, but also take several dozen highly detailed pictures of the two. Content with her work, she deactivated the omnitool and went back to work, leaving the two alone and unaware of what transpired.

_So...who all would be interested in this_, she thought to herself with a bit of cheerfulness, _and what can I get out of them for it?_

* * *

**1452 Local Time**

**September 7th, 2174 (17 AH)**

**Outside New Southampton**

**Logres**

**Logres, Arcturus Stream**

"Why are we out here Schneizel," Cornelia li Britannia audibly enough for Schneizel to hear but for no one else as they entered the private villa the Imperial family had on Logres, their guards and Knights had broken off to go over the entirety of the estate to personally make sure it was secure leaving them the inside.

"I felt it was necessary that we both had some time to relax, you and I have been working much too hard the last few years to take the time to relax."

"And you know how much hell that would be for me after this, right?"

Currently the entirety of the Home Fleet as well as Task Groups Excalibur and Secace were parked over the planet to guard it, such was the requirements for the protection of the Prime Minister and the ranked commander of the Britannian military.

"They can consider it paid leave," he murmured with one of his patented smiles designed to disarm even the most bellicose of recipients.

Cornelia sighed as they moved further into the mansion, passing through the main foyers and towards the living area, "and why isn't Euphie here?"

"She respectfully declined. You know how she dislikes Logres."

"And leaving her in the hands of that Ashford harlot is any better?"

"The Ashford family has been loyal to the Lamperouge line and by extension us. Millicent Ashford, while certainly different, is an upstanding citizen who has provided an excellent performance as a cultural attache in spite of her youth. I sincerely doubt your fears are legitimate."

Cornelia could only grumble in response before coming to an abrupt stop, suddenly sniffing the air.

He could smell it too, cigarattes, a familiar smell he hadn't smelled since Marianne.

Before he could say anything else, Cornelia unholstered her pistol and stormed into the living area, her shields flickering into place.

Coming in she leveled it at a figure sitting in one of the leather chairs, her head in a book as she casually leafed through another page.

"Who are you and why are you here," the Princess demanded, even as he came up and got a good look at the woman in question.

She had red currently down that framed her head, he had caught a glimpse of sapphire that had merely glanced at them for an instant. Outside of her defining features which had a hint of Japanese in it, she wore a women's trouser suit in black, her hands covered by matching black gloves.

In spite of the look she just oozed danger to his eyes, from how she had swiftly scanned over them before returning to the book.

"I'm talking to you, girl," Cornelia snapped.

"Cornelia, would you kindly stop pointing your weapon at my girlfriend before she kicks your ass?"

Cornelia froze as both she and Schneizel turned to the newcomer, Cornelia double-, then triple-taking as she took him in.

It had been over a decade since she had seen him in the flesh, really the only thing that had given him away was the all-too-familiar hairstyle and violet eyes.

"Lelouch," Cornelia cried, replacing the pistol, coming up and enveloping him in a bonecrushing hug, not even noticing the glass of iced bourbon in his right hand.

"Cornelia," he rasped, eyes wide as the hug had deprived him of breath, "it's...good to see you."

Letting him go she stepped back casting an appraising eye over him.

"You've grown up quite well...wait," she froze before whirling to the redhead, "GIRLFRIEND?!"

Kallen had taken that as the cue for her to get involved, softly closing the book and looking up, allowing the Princess a good look over her.

"You're joking, Lelouch, right," she asked looking back at her younger brother.

"What makes you think that," Lelouch asked, his boyfriend senses screaming possible danger as Kallen's expression hardened, not for himself, but for Cornelia. He had learned in the last year and a half, Kallen getting pissed was a serious danger for the recipient.

"Cornelia," Schneizel warned also sensing the danger and was trying to head it off, but Cornelia didn't seem to listen to the warning.

"Look at her Lelouch. She's not a proper woman, she's wearing decidedly non-noble clothing, her bearing is not lady-like, and she's obviously a mixed breed."

"That's rather ironic, considering your mother's grandfather originated from the Nordic countries of the EU," Kallen spoke pointedly, "Lelouch, if I didn't know any better, I'd think your sister was a pureblood like my grandfather."

Lelouch paled at the pointed words, eyes glancing at Cornelia who looked ready to explode, electing now to quickly down his bourbon in preparation for the fireworks. There were very few in Britannia that dared correct Cornelia because she could be such a firebreather. It was a death sentence to mock her.

"And _who _is your grandfather?"

"Baron Malcolm Stadtfeld. My father was Elend, he was disowned for falling in love with my mother, who happened to be Japanese. They and my brother ended up all dying at Shanxi thanks to that man's prejudices."

Cornelia seemed to have the wind taken out of her sails at the mention of Shanxi.

"You were at Shanxi?"

"I was a cell commander replacing my brother after he jumped on a grenade intended for me," she stated flatly with a challenging glare.

"My condolences for your loss, but that does not exempt the fact that you are not nobility."

"Actually," he chose this moment to intervene, "I am restoring her family's noble rank in lieu of the conduct unbecoming of the title of Britannian nobility and granting Kallen the noble title of Countess for the _service _she has rendered unto Britannia."

Cornelia spluttered in response, her mind automatically assuming the only thing that a _hormonally driven _pair of teenagers would be concerned with.

"Come now Lelouch," Kallen chirped a bit _too _cattily, "don't give your siblings the wrong idea."

"And you need to stop antagonizing my sister," Lelouch shot back, stepping past Cornelia and situating himself in a chair to Kallen's left, reaching into his pocket and extracting a cigarette and proceeded to light it, then taking a slow inhale of it before letting it out.

"And you told me that Cornelia can be too uptight at times."

Lelouch paused, his eyes glancing furtively at Kallen before coming back to Cornelia who was beginning to look like she was ready to explode again.

"I swear, Kallen, you and C.C. need to stop being together. I have enough problems unruffling the feathers of everyone that witch pisses off. I don't need you increasing my workload."

"I don't know what you're talking about," the redhead replied nonchalantly.

_Well, they are certainly acting like they are in a relationship,_ Schneizel mused to himself as he watched the two exchange with one another. It was a bit difficult to wrap around in his head the fact that his brother was now not only legally an adult, but was also in a relationship. If he was having issues with it, he knew Cornelia was probably even worse off then himself.

"Now that everyone is here," Lelouch's voice caused him to snap out of his reverie, the smoke swirling around him as his amethyst eyes narrowed, all business-like now, "I think we can save further pleasantries until after we discuss the events in the galaxy."

Taking the invitation, in spite of Cornelia's disgruntled rumbling, he took up another chair across from the two, Cornelia quieting herself due to the importance of what was to be discussed. It had changed from a reunion to a war council.

"First," Lelouch began, "if I have not said it before, thank you brother and sister for your administration of my role in your absence. Britannia has expanded and become stronger far beyond my expectations of when we began this ten years ago. Even with my limited input as dictated by the situation, you seem to have managed exactly as how I would have imagined it would have come. Second, I intend for both of you to continue to maintain this role for foreseeable future."

Pausing, he allowed them a moment to absorb the praise as he took a deep drag of the cigarette.

"May I ask what you plan to do, Lelouch," Cornelia spoke, asking the question that Schniezel was busy trying to wargame out, "there is only so much we can keep doing, soon you'll need Schneizel's permission to reclaim the throne... and you know what a hassle that has been in the past."

"That shouldn't be a problem," Lelouch spoke, his eyes shifting to Schneizel for a moment, unspoken message being sent, _there better not be_, "If I reappear now too many questions will be asked, it is better to take advantage of the chaos brought on by a crisis to where the questions will be drowned out by the cries for something to be done."

"So what's the plan?"

"Cerberus will rise, of course. Not as a large-scale threat, at least not for another five years or so, but we will start making the moves necessary to force the Council to pay attention to us. We don't have the necessary assets for a straight up fight, again, that won't at least for five to ten years, so we will do what the Shadow Broker has done and keep to the shadows."

"And what is your asset strength, you have been cryptic in it."

"Three superdreadnoughts, six fleet carriers, nine battlecruisers, twenty-three destroyers, and a hundred and seventeen Stalkers."

_That was certainly respectable_, Schneizel thought as Cornelia's frown deepened. Britannia was just now setting up its shipyards in Bolthole, the code-name for the Camlann System, a system that was not in any of Britannia's stellar charts because it was intended to be a secret facility in the same vein as the Salarians. Unlike them, Lelouch had none of the problems with maintaining secrecy or really finding the funding for the projects simply because of how Avalon was set up. Still, to have that type of hull count in a decade was nothing short of miraculous.

"Moving on," Lelouch continued, "in lieu of my return, it is time to move to Stage III of the Plan Adrasteia."

This caused the temperature to seemingly drop between the three siblings, while even Kallen perked up, previously she had only been listening half-heartedly to the siblings talk. Now that it seemed that they were getting down to the true business of the meeting, the two part plan for acquiring revenge for Empress Marianne vi Britannia and establishing Britannia, and by extension humanity, as the premier power of the galaxy.

This was where Cornelia took over, as she started speaking.

"Currently we have lost track of Saren," she started, watching Lelouch's face harden into a snarl, they all knew he was the man who had pulled the trigger that had claimed the Empress, he was also the hardest to touch because of his Spectre status, if he was dealt with wrong, then the Council would come after them because of how important Saren was to them, "other than the usual incidences as you are aware of, Saren has done nothing to earn the ire of the Council, in fact, they have quietly commended him for the massacre on Camala. Since then we have had several pings on him entering Batarian space and even Batarian Intelligence has been having difficulty in tracking him."

"Moving on, Primarch Vyrmus has been keeping to Palaven, his age has become a concern but too many Turians look up to him to provide any challenges. He only makes a trip to Citadel space once or twice a year, usually to confer in person with Councilor Avitus. We now have confirmation thanks to the Quarians that he was the one who authorized the production and distribution of Refrain into Britannian and HSA space."

If the room had been chilled before, it became like an icebox. Six years ago, Refrain had reared its ugly head in the drug markets in a rash of overdoses. It was single-handedly the most insidious of drugs that existed within the known galaxy because of what it did to the user. Simply put, it stimulated the brain to create more dopamine than it requires in order to create hallucinatory flashbacks of past pleasant experiences by stimulating the memories of its users. With a humanity that had been placed in a cage by the Citadel, it was an escape that had become wildly popular in several colonies and even in the home system. However, what made it worse was that it damaged the cerebellum of its victims, causing it to deteriorate until the user became an invalid. However, for biotics, it was discovered that Refrain reacted to eezo for unknown reasons, causing the body to attack the eezo nodules as if they were a foreign entity, extended exposure to Refrain literally robbed the ability of a biotic to use their power forever by destroying their ability to manifest it, which had become a major point of contention for Vyrmus since Shadow Order 66. Britannia was just now starting to stamp down on Refrain, but it would be years until they would be able to gauge the level of damages that had been caused.

Even worse though, the drug was found to be just as effective to _ALL _levo-based organisms, and as soon as that was discovered it had spread like wildfire throughout the galaxy. It had only been a few weeks ago that the Council had finally realized just how dangerous and devastating Refrain had become, even the normally neutral Asari were beginning to viciously crack down on it, authorizing Justicars to kill-on-sight any Refrain dealer.

Coughing slightly, she continued from memory, "Avitus has not left the Citadel since he had been sworn in, other than his meetings with Tyrmus and the Council, he keeps himself isolated and well-guarded, only allowing certain personnel in for a private audience, the rest are delegated to his current aide, General Sparatus."

"And just how is Sparatus? Is he an improvement over Avitus if the good Councilor were to meet his demise," Kallen asked.

"Sparatus is even worse," Schneizel spoke, with a frown "if you were to sum him up, an asshole and bigot would easily come to mind, and he doesn't play well with others. He's skeptical to any idea not his own, and makes his personal disdain for humanity readily apparent. Personally, I think Quentius or Victus would be an infinitely better option compared to him, but Sparatus has too many allies not to be considered Avitus' heir apparent."

"Knocking off Sparatus is something we should avoid," Lelouch interrupted, looking to Kallen, "if anything, he could be useful in the long run, the more he cracks down on humanity and Britannia, the better we will look when we initiate Stage IV. Now, what about Kryik?"

"Nihlus is surprisingly acting like a repentant sinner," Cornelia took back over, "he's become the anti-Saren of the SPECTREs, keeping the bodycounts to a minimum and going out of his way to help Britannians in several situations. He's not exactly popular with the Turians, but because of his status he's relatively unassailable. He's actually the easiest to get to."

"Then he'll be useful in the future, if he's turning pro-Human, or at least ambivalent to us, I'll stay the executioner's blade on him for now," Lelouch spoke cooly, he didn't like it, but of everything he had read of Nihlus, the man seemed generally repentant of his involvement in his mother's assassination. He could be useful in the long run with a few pushes in the right direction, "for now, just keep an eye on them, I doubt we will need to move on him anytime soon, if anything, I would like to personally deal with him last. Kallen."

"Understood," the redhead spoke, taking a small breath, this was her time to shine, "Lelouch has decided that we will start Stage III by reacquiring and eliminating Saren Arterius, we have reason to believe that he has developed a beyond normal interest in Prothean relics. This is significant because previously Saren had no interest in any type of Prothean relics, in fact, there have been two documented incidents in which he has willfully destroyed a relic in spite of their worth. We're have not been able to ascertain exactly what is the cause of this interest, but it has been enough to have STG place a flag on several accounts tied to Arterius."

"Does the interest have any connection to Jötnar," Schneizel asked. Everyone frowned at the question, Jötnar was the codename given for the Reapers.

"We don't know," Lelouch replied, "all we can do is track his transmissions and recipients. Because he pings his messages off of Citadel servers any type of EVI intervention could be detected and the last thing we need is the Citadel discovering that our EVIs are actually fully-fledged AIs. For Saren's hunt, I have tasked Kallen with it, her _specialty_ should be sufficient to counteract Saren's skillset. For the operation, she has complete carte blanche for assets, logistics, anything she asks, I expect for her to get."

Cornelia bristled, but nodded.

"I can give her Task Group Secace," Cornelia stated, "Clarent should become operational next month to replace it, we'll be stretched a bit, but it will give me the excuse to form Galatine from the new ship construction at Logres."

"And I want the Knight Nine under her command," Lelouch added, "since I am leaving you the Knights of the Round, the Knight Nine should be a good enough consolation."

"Right now they are prepping for an operation on Ilium," Schneizel responded, "someone killed the Ambassador and the locals refuse to cooperate with us. I have authorized them for a Cromwell if they find anything suspicious."

A Cromwell was a special action authorization that could only be authorized by the leader of Britannia. To put it bluntly it was a scorched earth dictum, giving the operatives the ability to prosecute the operation to their specifications. When the Knight Nine we given a Cromwell they had a tendency to go wild in the prosecution of their mission.

"How long until they are mission capable?"

"A week, maybe two," the Prime Minister replied.

Lelouch leaned back for a minute thinking.

"Very well. In a few months' time time I will be moving on Omega to meet Aria T'Loak."

"What the hell for," Cornelia protested, "T'Loak is a cutthroat and a criminal. She is beneath your presence, Lelouch."

"Maybe so, Cornelia, but T'Loak could provide an excellent ally, she isn't a fan of the Council and she's only really interested in retaining her fiefdom. Which is why she's perfect for what I plan. Currently Aria's having some internal issues with various mercenary groups on Omega. I plan to put her in my debt by bailing her out with Cerberus and getting Omega as a forward operating base for my assets."

"Still, I would be careful Lelouch," Schneizel chose to interject, "Aria has a history."

"That I'm perfectly aware of, but she's getting desperate, even though she has been able to keep it off the extranet. She maybe has nine months left before they will make their final move."

"Just...be careful," Cornelia warned.

"For the foreseeable future," Lelouch continued, "I will be operating in Citadel space setting up various operations and facilities. Furthermore, I believe it's time I start seeing firsthand the Citadel to confirm a suspicion. But, enough of that, we can talk more later, I want to hear everything. And how is Euphie doing?"

* * *

**4:47pm Arcturus Local Time**

**April 2nd, 2175**

**Arcturus Academy**

**Arcturus Stream**

_She had done it_, she thought happily as she mingled through the crowd of families and well-wishers there to see the graduates of the Arcturus Academy Class of 2175.

Double-checking her beret again after getting bumped into by an excited family member spotting their loved one.

She had grown her hair out over the last two years, she hadn't had the need to worry about her hair being used against her as a weapon since she hadn't had to fight since she had started taking Instructor Nu's classes, word got around the Academy that she was hands off.

And now thanks to all of that here she was, top of the class, a commissioned Lieutenant thanks to her diligence and hard work.

Unfortunately, David Anderson was not able to be here today. He was on deployment with the SSV Europa, the newest and latest Dreadnought in the Alliance, he had finally got that vaunted Captain's chair that would quickly catapult to a much higher rank. She was happy for him, though it would have been nice if he had been here.

"Shepard," her name called out caused her head to snap to the voice spotting Suzaku waving at her.

Flashing a smile she changed her course and joined up with her best friend.

"Look at you, all dashing in a graduation uniform," she said pulling him into a lighthearted hug, "you see Tylinian's face when I got announced."

"He looked ready to claw his eyes out," Suzaku laughed, "so you got your orders?"

She nodded as she held open her letter that was still unopened, they had both agreed to open their orders together. There was an extraordinarily high probability because of their performance in the last year of squad training being the best in Academy history they would be assigned together. Hell, even Anderson had told her it would be odd if that didn't happen.

"Suzaku," a deep voice interrupted the two before they could open their orders together.

Suzaku's face froze into a smile even as some of the excitement was lost in his eyes as Jane turned to face a man dressed in a business uniform with six men surrounding him, their shades making it obvious that they were bodyguards.

immediately she recognized the man as Prime Minister Genbu Kururugi and she stiffened to attention.

"Father," Suzaku said as pleasantly as possible.

"Prime Minister," she got out as respectfully as possible even for the suddenness of it.

He looked at her for a minute before his lip twitched up for a moment into a sneer before it was quickly gone and she kept her expression as warm as possible.

She knew the expression, she had seen it too many times when people recognized her as a Britannian.

"Congratulations Suzaku," he rumbled, "you've done all of us proud with your performance here. Though it would have been preferable if you were top of the class."

"I apologize Father," Suzaku replied, bowing his head as if in shame, "but I never could seem to keep up with Jane."

"So you say," he responded darkly as his eyes fell back to her, the irritation at her presence radiating off him.

She wanted to deck this asshole so badly, for treating Suzaku like shit but just being a bigoted asshole in general.

Instead she merely bowed as respectfully as she could.

"Your son is quite skilled, Prime Minister, in fact he kept me on my feet the entire time in the Academy, I just couldn't afford to be second best."

"You're Shepard," he stated, his voice like he had bit into a rotted fruit.

She could only keep herself bowed as her eyes narrowed in anger.

_Deep calming breaths Jane, decking the leader of a member nation is going to earn you the fastest stint in the history of any military._

The uneasy silence continued before she could hear the man snort as he turned to Suzaku.

"I can see why you're second," he stated, the acid in his tone strong enough to etch titanium, "you're too much like your mother in you put other's feelings first...oor perhaps you're smitten with her."

This caused her head to snap up as she glared at him, his own challenging glare bearing down on her. _How dare he suggest!_

"She is my friend, Father," Suzaku replied as firmly as possible, catching his friends reaction and knowing the disaster developing, "I would be in remiss not to do my best because she is that."

"...Disgraceful. Come," he commanded, "we must be going, our transport back to Japan is awaiting us."

"I have my orders here, Father, I was about to open them."

"Then do it, I will be awaiting you, if you take too long..."

He then turned and walked away, his bodyguards arranging themselves around them as he departed.

"I'm sorry," Suzaku said quietly, his eyes narrowed in anger at his his father's back, "my father can be-"

"An asshole?"

The edge of his mouth quirked up in a semblance of a smile before he nodded.

"You always have a way with words."

"It's cuz unlike you, I didn't grow up with golden chopsticks."

He snorted in amusement.

"At least I didn't rut around in a gutter all of my life, peasant."

"There you go again with that Japanese royalty shtick," she laughed in return at the jab, "I am not worthy of your benevolence my prince."

"Bamboo splinters it is."

They both broke out laughing

After settling down they both looked at the envelopes in their hands.

"So, where do you think we'll be assigned," he asked, a bit of nerves in his tone.

"Probably on the frontier somewhere, they always need new recruits for the colony worlds. Though I would love to get assigned to the Europa, newest dreadnought in the fleet, you just know she'll see some serious action sooner or later."

"What is it with you and looking for a fight?"

"Hey, for the record, I only did that ONCE when that girl started talking shit behind your back. Other than that I never looked for one."

"So you just attract trouble then, that's great to hear. Now I really don't want to get assigned with you."

"Hey!"

They both smiled again before again looking at the envelopes.

"On the count of three, right?"

Suzaku nodded solemnly.

"One, two, three!"

They then both opened up the envelopes, unfolding the orders and both began reading them.

_Order Number 36-001-8083 April 2__nd__, 2174_

_73__rd__ Guards Marine Detachment, SSV Thermopylae_

_Lieutenant Shepard, you are hereby ordered to active duty from academy status and assigned as shown below. Proceed immediately to your assignment and report within the allotted time listed below. Congratulations, Lieutenant._

_Assigned to: SSV Thermopylae_

_Reporting Station: Elysium Defense Command (EOC), Vetus System, Petra Nebula_

_Reporting Date: April 9__th__, 2174_

_Authority: Commander Benjamin DeVries, Commander, 73__rd__ Guards_

_Purpose: Executive Officer of 73__rd__ Guards_

_Additional Instructions: Lieutenant, you will be expected to be familiar with the design layout of the Trafalgar-Class Frigate by the time you arrive. Additionally, you are to study the personnel profiles and provide your initial input on the personnel to the CO 73__rd__ Guards by the time you arrive._

_Authentication: S10D64KL_

"Wow," she said, "looks like we get to be right in the middle of it. We might even-"

She then saw Suzaku's expression and felt herself become chilled. The face frozen in rictus, the narrowed eyes, the set jaw, oh no, this was not going to be good.

"Suzaku, what is it? You're assigned to the Thermoplyae, right?"

But he didn't respond, instead, she could feel the air around her becoming energized, it was becoming increasingly evident that Suzaku was enraged about something.

"Suzaku," she asked, placing her hand on his shoulder, grinding her teeth at the static shock from it, but it snapped him out of it as he looked up at her.

"I'm sorry," he finally said, before handing her the orders, allowing her to read it.

_Order Number 36-001-8084 April 2__nd__, 2174_

_Security Police Division Section 1_

_Lieutenant Kururugi, you are hereby ordered to active duty from academy status and assigned as shown below. Proceed immediately to your assignment and report within the allotted time listed below. Congratulations, Lieutenant._

_Assigned to: Security Police Division Section 1_

_Reporting Station: Office of the Prime Minister of Japan_

_Reporting Date: January 7__th__, 2174_

_Authority: Director Nagisa Chiba_

_Purpose: Protection Detail for the Prime Minister of Japan_

_Additional Instructions: None_

_Authentication: V87L29SO_

_That's why he was telling Suzaku to join him_, she thought as she fought the urge to crumple the orders in her hand. She wouldn't do that because it would reflect badly upon him. _Politics, that's all it was, and that's why Suzaku is so damn pissed. He can't escape his father's shadow like he had always feared._

"It's only a protection detail," she found herself saying, trying to reassure him as he seemed heartbroken by the fact that they wouldn't be teamed up, hell, they were an unstoppable team together, to be broken up just wasn't right at all, "give it a few months and you'll be able to get reassignment no problem Suzaku."

He forced a smile on his face, even though they both knew it was more than likely not going to happen, "Yeah."

"Just you wait, you'll be over with me in Elysium kicking some pirate ass like we've been doing the plebes around here. I bet I'll have to be the one trying to catch up with you by the time you get over here."

"Hey, you'll write, right?"

"Of course, I'll make sure to tell you everything that's going on over there so when you jump right in you won't be lost. But you have to write me back, okay?"

He nodded, a wan smile on his face, "I'll do that."

She then held out a hand to him, and he took it, both clasping firmly.

"Well, you better get to your assignment, hit me up when you get settled and I'll do the same."

"Hn."

"And if you turn anti-social because your Dad pushed you around too much, I swear to whatever God you may worship, I will personally take the first transport to Earth to personally kick your royally pampered ass."

He laughed, a smile coming back on his face.

"Then I better not let this get me down, should I? Well, I'll be going now, good luck with your assignment."

"You too."

And then he was gone as he quickly took off in a trot, Shepard's smile fading as she let out a breath. It was tough for her to see him off like this, Suzaku had become that one person she could depend upon for anything and to suddenly lose him like this, she felt…naked. It was almost as if she were back to square one. She knew that she was going to have to work her ass off to gain any respect.

After all, she was a Britannian…

* * *

**1937 Local Time**

**April 8th, 2175 (18 AH)**

**Omega**

**Sahrabarik, Omega Nebula**

It was aptly known as Omega, the end point for the lives of many of the down and dirty denizens of the galaxy, a hub for scum and villainy that were able to do whatever they pleased with little to no consequence for their actions unless it was from other criminals that they had angered. It was both the unofficial capital of the Terminus Systems' and the home of many mercenary and underground groups. No Citadel group outside of SPECTREs were sane enough to tread upon the grounds that were considered the most dangerous in the galaxy.

Which was perfect for Cerberus, which had set its sights upon the facility. As a result, a frigate approached one of the many docking collars that dotted the superstructure of Omega, sidling into position before coming to a stop. The mere presence of the frigate was both as a symbol of power but also protection for its occupants as three figures stepped through the door of the docking collar and into the hall.

To the left was a grizzled man with close-cropped brown hair, the right side of his face horribly disfigured completed with a mismatched eye. He was decked out in full black combat armor that had a T with the vertical part ending as a dagger blade.

To the right was a woman dressed in a red and white skinsuit with an odd skirt with holes on the side to where one's hand could slip in. Her face and ebony locks easily identified her as of Japanese ancestry even as her alert eyes scanned their dingy and dark surroundings, if it wasn't for the fact she had the bearing of a killer the small white maid hat and yellow scarf she wore would have been comical.

"Master Zero," she warned, her eyes locking onto a Turian that was sauntering toward them like he owned the place. Her right hand slipped down to her side to where the third member, Zero knew where she kept her kunai.

"Welcome to Omega, Cerberus," the Turian growled, obviously not happy with something.

"I'm surprised you are aware of us," Zero replied, his synthesized voicing.

"Aria is aware of many up and comers who want to take a piece of her pie. And when you show up with an unregistered frigate people notice."

"But of course. I take it Aria is interested in talking with us."

"She's expecting you at the Afterlife."

"Of course."

The Turian's job done, it walked away leaving the three of them standing there.

"Well he was certainly cheeky," rumbled the man.

"We probably ruined whatever he was doing with our arrival," the woman returned, "still, I recommend caution Master Zero, I did not like his look."

Zero nodded before replying, "We'll continue as planned. If Aria is waiting for us then we shouldn't keep her waiting."

The trio then began walking, intent on their objective, even as the air behind them shimmered in several places before settling.

"So this is Omega," Zero mused to his accompaniment as they exited through the door that led them into the main chamber that would lead them to Afterlife, taking the time to scan over his surroundings. While he intellectually understand the state of Omega in its abject squalor from its lack of governance, still it was completely different to see it for what it was. Yet where people saw destitution, crime, and evil, he saw opportunity. But before he could take advantage of it he needed to clear the next obstacle.

"I've been here a few times," the man stated, "not exactly the kindest place to be, but it was always a good source for mercenaries and work. Lot of desperate people looking for a quick credit."

"You don't have to worry about that anymore, do you Massani," the woman stated simply, her back to the two as she looked for threats while the other two were talking.

"As much as I enjoy running Tacitus, I do miss the good 'ol days when it was just me and Jessie."

"Very well," Zero spoke, stepping back from the railing, his head moving towards where Afterlife lit up the entire area in its ambient lighting, sorely sticking out in the poorly lit surroundings. The lighting serving as an exclamation for both itself and its owner, "let's get this done."

Turning, he moved towards the front of Afterlife, his entourage retaking their places beside him. It was only a few more minutes before they were in front of it, sliding past the line, the Krogan bouncer casting one glance at them before they passed a pair of armed Batarian guards and into the hall.

As the last gateway to the club parted, they were bombarded with the music that was blaring in the club, the middle of the club taken up by the large vertical hologram of an outlined Asari dancer moving to the music, surrounding that more Asari poledancing. To the right a bar, and to the left a pit with seating arranged all around.

However, instead of the usual expectations you would have of a bar with people enjoying the entertainment and drinking, there was a different atmosphere to that, one of stress and anticipation. They could easily see that there were more armed personnel than there were civilians and they all seemed to be on edge. But that was all they logged as the three proceeded towards their objective in the back, passing by the bar and to the stairs where a Turian and two Batarians looked them over once before allowing them past, their assault rifles out and ready to bear.

As they moved up the stairs finally came to the balcony where their target was, Zero stepping forward and allowed himself a good look at her.

She was certainly different from many Asari, where many Asari had a skin color in hues of blue, Aria T'Loak was purple, furthermore, she also had tattoos on her face while almost every known Asari preferred unmarred skin. All these did was add to the allure of the pirate queen of Omega.

As he looked her over she was likewise returning the favor, generating her own opinions on the unknown variable before her. This was technically the first official appearance of Zero, and Cerberus was a relatively new entity in galactic affairs for the most part, so for him to be here was probably something she was trying to figure out both who he was and what he intended.

"And you are," she asked finally, the frost in her voice setting the tone for the coming dialogue.

"I am Zero."

A small quirk on the left of her lip, whether it was amusement or annoyance he wasn't sure, instead she simply stood up, folding her arms underneath her chest as she turned to the holographic display of the Asari dancer.

"A curious name," she stated, "but that tells me nothing. All I know is that a Cerberus flagged frigate has shown up in my space and has docked at my station. I don't appreciate surprises and I especially don't appreciate unknowns on my station, so you will have to do a bit better to placate me."

_So she's going to go with that route_, Zero thought, _fair enough._

When he had prepared for this he had spent two weeks poring over every single bit of information on Aria T'Loak, from psychological profiles created by the Citadel to her criminal record in order to deconstruct her to the simplest of terms for him to predict how she would act.

He turned his head to a Batarian that was watching them a bit too intently for a mere guard. Bringing his hand up til it was visible, he snapped his finger.

The Batarian in question didn't even have time to react as a blade passed through where his heart was and jutted out the front, his body falling limp. At the same time as the rest of her men reacted, blades appeared across their the necks as they were all grabbed and held still. That was when mirages appeared and dissipated to reveal black clad men and women.

"How about an informant," he asked, watching as Aria's expression harden as she faintly ground her teeth, "the Batarian my subordinate just dealt with has been feeding info to your enemies and the STG."

He then held his hand and retrieved a small datapad that had been thrown at him, pilfered from the informant's person . He then held it forward towards Aria allowing her to take it and look it over, her scowl deepening further and further.

"Garka," she snapped, the blade disappearing from the Batarian's neck allowing him to come up to her and take the pad, "how the hell did you miss this?"

The Batarian faltered, looking over the information being shown to him.

"I don't know, but I will make up for this Aria."

"Deal with the problem," she snarled, her eyes not leaving Zero's mask, "personally."

"But Aria-"

"If you can't deal with Varren in my ranks how the hell can I expect you to work as my Chief Enforcer."

The Batarian realized the situation and beat a hasty retreat, leaving the tense standoff between the pirate queen and rogue leader.

"Disperse."

The command given, swords were sheathed, their owners phasing into nothingness as they stepped back, Aria's men turning to engage only found air.

"Have a seat," Aria motioned sharply, Zero taking the offer and sitting down, feeling the couch absorb his weight. He looked back to Aria now who looked ready to explode. But then again, it was understandable considering that he had just waltzed in here and put out that display of power. The underlying messages couldn't be simply ignorde, if he could slip in several operatives in cloak and no one be the wiser, certainly he could have killed her.

"What do you want?"

Clear and concise, she knew the score and she wasn't going to dally around the situation. He was right in that he could work with her.

"We need a forward operating base, but we would prefer it first if we had an ally of you."

The Asari chose to snort at the statement.

"From what I hear you have some internal issues here in Omega. The Blood Pack, Eclipse, Green Wave, Black Hand, and Vertigo have all banded together to topple you."

Of course, she was doing her damndest to prevent that from getting out, but when you have EVIs poring every snippet of information going in and out of Omega you can build a picture quickly.

And judging by Aria's reaction of irritation, his intel was right.

"Hypothetically," she spoke, reining her irritation in, "let's say I have the issue you are speaking of. What can you do to solve this issue?"

"I can annihilate it."

Pursed lips were his only response, he knew exactly what she was thinking about, the quick display of power from before, but also the presence of the Commander and CEO of Tacitus meant he had assets. The only question was the risk, if he had that power, what would stop him from knocking her off when he no longer needed her.

Time for the last item to the masterpiece.

"Can we speak privately?"

Aria looked at him for a few moments before nodding.

"Leave us," she commanded her men.

"Sayoko, Zaeed, give us a minute."

They then stepped away, joining her men, as Aria stood up and waved her hand in the air, a holographic display powering up as she tapped a few buttons. In response, their surroundings were encased in a shell, shielding them from prying eyes.

"There, you have your privacy. What is it?"

"It'll be easier if I do this," Zero replied, reaching up and unsealing his helmet, revealing himself and allowing Aria to see the man behind the mask.

He knew exactly what she was seeing, messy silver hair framing Britannian features and blue eyes.

"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Viscount Nicolai Alvin Hubert, and I am an emissary for His Majesty."

"Schneizel sent you?"

"I said His Majesty, not His Highness."

The expression was worth it as Aria's changed from annoyance to intrigue.

"I...see," she stated.

"While Schneizel may represent Britannia currently, His Majesty still operates with the best of his people in mind, even if it may be tempered by the desire of revenge upon those who murdered the Empress. In spite of this distraction, the concept of forming alliances for his return has not left his mind, considering you have already proven to be a capable ally of Britannia itself thanks to your graciousness."

"And that is why you are here."

"Of course. Britannia has become one of your top buyers of Element Zero in the last five years, spending significantly above what the others do in order to open an extralegal pipeline in order to avoid Citadel interference. The loss of both you and Omega would be a significant setback for our long-term objectives. Simply put, His Majesty wants to expand our already flourishing alliance by offering a defense pact. His exact words to me were 'My enemies are yours, and your interests are mine'."

"And likewise in return," Aria replied with narrowed eyes, her mind obviously calculating the pros and cons of such an arrangement. She was a pirate, the concepts of honor and allegiances were both fleeting and figurative, one day's friend could be the next day's foe.

_But then there was the information that he had placed before her. The power of that information could easily balance out the risk of being betrayed. Aria will no doubt set up contingencies in the event that Cerberus betrays her._

"You have a deal," she finally stated, "on three conditions."

"I'm listening."

"First, you have a week to deal with my issue. You do that and you have your FOB."

"Acceptable."

"Second, the loss of all of these mercenary units will leave a vacuum in Omega. They have been effective implements of maintaining the status quo before they decided to bit the hand that feeds. If they are wiped out, I expect you to support me."

"Already been planned. They will not be Tacitus or classified as Cerberus, but consider Omega's peace and a bit of its seedier and dangerous facets to be adequately contained in the interim."

"Finally, I want to meet him. I don't trust anyone who isn't willing to make deals face to face, so as soon as conditions one and two are completed, I expect a visit."

"I do not have that authority, but considering His Majesty, I believe he can respect that sentiment and will make sure to arrange a meeting."

She searched his expression for a few moments before nodding.

"You have a deal then."

"We do have one condition though."

"What is that?"

"You will not reveal the existence of His Majesty to anyone unless we say so."

"...Of course."

"Very well then," he smiled, holding forward a hand towards Aria, who looked at the hand for a moment, before taking it, "it's a deal."

* * *

A/N:

A day late, but this was the best we could do in light of the circumstances. Personal life, work, college, and general unwillingness to write all sum up the excuses that propogate the reason for our tardiness.

So, we have a series of graduations in this chapter, with Kallen finally reaching Lelouch's level of power, Lelouch has returned to known space, Jane and Suzaku have graduated but it seems things aren't looking up for them, and Lelouch is scheming in earnest with Aria in his sights.

Now, moving onto business, guest posts, while appreciated, when they are critical, it would be nice if we were allowed the opportunity to question and defend ourselves in lieu of the criticism. Posting a guest post in the negative isn't exactly conducive to allowing us to improve the product of our labors. So, please, if you can, leave us an account review or a way we can talk back to you so we can ask what might be a problem.

Finally, there will be one more update in the next week (or so) before we go on hiatus. Like we have stated before, it is to allow us to work up some material so we can continue the consistent updates. But it is also a marking of a changing of the arc, per se. We have established much of the world that will take place (with some more necessary), it is now to actually start digging into some of the more weightier issues over the next few months as we make the transition.

In fact, expect the chapter to be deeper into the weekend, AlSmash is celebrating his birthday Monday, which means he will probably be too drunk to write...or will proceed write too much.


	9. Eris

**Chapter 7**

**Eris**

**0826 Local Time**

**April 15th, 2175 (18AH)**

**Omega**

******Sahrabarik, Omega Nebula**

"Seven, this is Control."

"Seven."

"Have you acquired your target?"

Lieutenant John Shepard, OSI, and member of the elite Knight Nine, looked through his scope again, taking the time to watch his prey through it, the ghosting outline all that was perceptible to him.

"Confirmed," he replied, "target has been acquired and awaiting authorization for weapons release."

"Roger that, stand by for authorization from Overlord."

"Understood."

The communication then ended, planting John back in the welcome silence of the mission. It allowed him to reflect upon the mission itself.

His mission was the elimination of Ganar Wrang, the head of the Blood Pack. Because of the amount of strategic targets that needed to be dealt with, all of the Knight Nine were deployed into single ops, tasked to eliminate their target upon signal.

To maximize the possibility for success, he was tasked to eliminate from afar. Wrang hadn't provided any openings in the week they had observed him, instead choosing to operate from his office more often than not. Because of that complication, he was currently situated on a roof nearly three kilometers away, lying prone behind the scope of a special sniper rifle for this mission.

With the advent of mass effect technology, chemically propelled weaponry had been phased out in favor of the new, shiny, and in the long-term more cost-effective platforms. They offered more ammunition, were less maintenance intensive, and didn't have the issue of requiring a certain type or caliber ammunition to work. However, The Humiliation had taught Britannia that while mass effect weaponry were cheaper, they sacrificed stopping power because of size of the rounds fired. It was all good and well if your gun could fire several hundred rounds at mid-to-high supersonic speeds, but if they sacrificed stopping power for that capability then it was a benefit that didn't matter. The fact of the matter was the size of the projectile fired by the weapon still mattered, despite the obsession with speed, and frankly the sand-sized pellet was not enough to do the damages necessary to be a gamechanger.

At first, Cerberus had tried tinkering with old-style chemically propelled weaponry but found that while they hit harder, they still had the issue of just not hitting hard enough to offset the cost. It wasn't until a scientific breakthrough in energy and superconductors had happened that they were finally able to increase the power output that they embraced the age-old adage of 'bigger is better'. And in this case, a larger round propelled at the same speed as the previously smaller sand pellet-sized ammunition did the job a damn world better than anything currently in the hands of any of the Citadel races.

The only downside that came with this was the fact that the good old tungsten cube that had been much loved (and maligned) was replaced again with actual magazines of ammunition providing both the thermal clip and the ammunition for the weapon. It had become a running joke within the Knight Nine to leave brass casings in order to fuck with the minds of the investigators of their rampages because the bullet holes left did not match any existing mass effect weaponry.

However, in this case though, they had to up the ante thanks to how the Blood Pack leader had situated himself for protection against snipers. Which was why John was using what the Nine referred to as "The Ladykiller". Suffice to say the idea of a portable rail gun that could fire a large-caliber anti-armor penetrator at nigh-hypersonic speeds would leave any sane sniper a simpering puddle of jealousy, even the cheap wannabe sniper bastards that swore by the new Widow line of snipers. Combine that with an advanced penetrating radar scope that wielded a VI assisted sniper computer (which John never used, he hated "cheat codes"), the question became simply "how much do you want him to die" and the rifle did the rest.

Well, the Boss wanted Ganar Wrang to really die, which was why he had the clueless Krogan in his scope. Add in a cloak to render him invisible to the sensors and the only clue that Wrang would have that he was a dead Krogan would be when the bullet rang his bell. Course, he'd already be dead by that time, but it was the thought that counted.

Until then, though, he would have to play the waiting game. He knew that pretty soon all of the assets would be in place and they would open the curtain for Operation Eris. An odd title, considering if his memory served him right, Eris was the Greek goddess of the dawn and the last time he checked, dawn was a milemarker for how you survived to a new day on Omega.

Meh, His Majesty can have his moments, as long as he got to kill something for Britannia to pave the road for its future he wouldn't care.

Speaking of which, his eyes darted to the chronometer set on his HUD. I wonder what Miranda is doing right now? It's what? His mind ran the calculations. 0230 in Pendragon, if she's there.

It was a bit odd, becoming friends with the person who recruited you to be a legal terrorist, but that's exactly what had transpired between himself and Operative Lawson. If he wasn't in the middle of an EMCONMISO, he might ring her up and ask her how her day was going. Odd, yes, but considering their work hours, perfectly normal.

Yeah, he'd hit her up and see if she was interesting in a drink next time they met and wanted to swap stories. He had some killers...

0000000

"Welcome aboard the Serenity, Miss T'Loak, if you and your entourage will follow me, we can get to the flag bridge to commence the operation."

Aria glanced over the officer who had greeted them for a moment before nodding in mute acceptance, internally, she was still coping with the speed of the events since the Cerberus cruiser had come out of the Relay only thirty minutes before, as soon as iit was squawking its authorization she had been whisked onto the Cerberus frigate to be transferred to the cruiser. She knew it was the day, but still the speed of everything was something else.

Exiting a ship transit shuttle they were led through a series of corridors before coming to a well-guarded door.

"I apologize Lady Aria, but I will have to ask your men to stay, Master Zero requests only your presence as per the agreement."

_Agreement? What part of the agreement is he...oh. Interesting._

"Very well," she replied as she recovered, glancing back at her two escorts and signaling them to stay. That done, she stepped forward and through the door, the portal sliding shut behind her as she found herself seemingly transported into an entirely different world.

All around her were numerous feeds, maps, and other data points being fed all around the room.

"Welcome, Aria T'Loak," a new voice she didn't know called out, causing her to turn her head to a series of displays where a figure stood beside the man she recognized as Zero. She already knew who it was, but still, seeing someone who should be dead still had its effects.

"So I guess your pet wasn't lying. You really aren't dead."

The raven-haired Emperor gave a smirk and merely nodded his head.

"When a upstanding Turian wants you dead the best way to avoid that status-"

"Is to be dead," she finished, completing the underworld joke concerning Turians, "I'm glad you got the true punchline of not being literal about it."

Lelouch chuckled back, shaking his head.

"So I take it this is it," she asked stepping forward and taking the hand he offered as she looked around the room at all the displays.

"Indeed. This room is from where Operation Eris will be launched and controlled from. Omega will be solely yours approximately two hours after initiation of the the operation."

"You think you can take out six mercenary units in two hours? Impressive."

"You haven't seem Tacitus in action Aria, once you have you'll understand why they earn top credit in the mercenary world and why they haven't failed a job yet."

"Overlord, this is Alecto Actual, we've located and are tracking the Patriarch, awaiting orders."

"And the last piece is on the board," Lelouch murmured turning away from her, "you've been wondering who's been giving orders to the mercs? Well there you are."

"I should have known," Aria growled, her hands tightening in fists, the Patriarch and she went back almost a century when she overthrew the Krogan and took over Omega, since then she'd kept him around as a trophy and a message to any aspiring challengers. She had viewed him as a toothless old Pyjack in the last few decades considering how he had both carried himself and the company he had kept, to find that he had pulled a fast one on her was...unpleasant.

"He may not have been the only one," Lelouch warned, his eyes flicking back to the screen of Omega, choosing to expand it to look over the positions of his men and women, "we'll find out when we interrogate him. All we need now is your word and we shall begin."

"Then start, the sooner Omega is secure, the sooner I can get back to business."

"Very well then," Lelouch vi Britannia responded, tapping his ear, "Overlord to all units, Eris is go in t-minus two minutes."

0000000

"Alecto, this is Overlord, green light"

_And here we go_, John thought, placing his eye behind the scope, acquiring the target of Ganar Wrang, his ghostly outline all that could be seen in it. Flicking a switch, the rifle powered up, transferring energy from the capacitor to rails and rifle, the low hum indicating it was approaching the level of necessary charge to fire

It was then another target entered his sight, another Krogan that began talking to Ganar.

_Bad day for you bud_, John thought as the low hum turned into a growl in his ear, letting him know it was ready to fire. Placing his finger on the trigger, he took a deep breath, letting it out as he could feel the rhythmic beat of his heart, before taking another-

And he pulled the trigger.

It wasn't so much an explosion that came from the barrel of the rifle as much as it was a thundercrack, a depleted uranium dart encased in a magnetic sabot being spat out at near-hypersonic speeds to allow it to rip through the air like a knife through warm butter. As soon as it cleared a suitable distance from the barrel the sabot split apart, allowing the kinetic penetrator to fly free and in less than two seconds it encountered meager resistance in the form of three walls before barreling through one Ganar Wrang's head and depositing itself in the wall adjacent to his body.

His accompaniment had less than another two seconds to realize, at the sight of his leader's exploding head, that they were under attack, his mind trying to desperately cope with the fact that the Krogan literally had been standing there one second and the next was dead.

He didn't have anymore time to think about where it came from as another round went through his chest, the vicious hydraulic shock from the round reducing his internal organs to liquefied mush.

"Scoped and dropped," John murmured, freezing for a split moment as he could have sworn hearing a Turian sneeze, which should not be possible where he was.

Satisfied that no one was around him, he deactivated the cloak and the material that covered both him and the rifle withdrew back into the bag beside him as he pulled himself up, the rifle's magnetic bipod retracting flush against the barrel with the barrel likewise retracting. He could feel his body strain at the heavy rifle's mass, but that was the purpose of the armor he wore to handle heavier burdens than his counterparts.

"Control, requesting pickup and assignment of precision fire support missions."

"Roger that, Alecto Seven, pickup eta thirty seconds, preparing queue for fire support request," came a disembodied and dry voice that he knew was one of the combat EVIs assigned to the mission.

"Sitrep on the rest of the team?"

"Objectives Alpha, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Theta, and Iota have been achieved, no casualties, no collateral."

Everything was going well then, good.

Allowing himself a moment to review the situation, while it had been difficult in the level of patience necessary for the job, it still wasn't exactly the hardest of missions he had yet. No, that honor went with his first mission when he drew the short straw and got to be the honey trap for an Ardat-Yakshi on Ilium. Yeah, that had been a difficult one, that wasn't say he wasn't handsome, hell, his teammates nicknamed him Adonis the first time they had met him, but it was the killing of the Ardat-Yakshi when the bitch got the jump on him one-on-one and sending the message that had been the difficult part

He could remember the fight that had taken place on that flat that night, how it had taken all of the training and his creativity to take that suped-up biotic bitch down and then mount her in a way that would send a message, again, his idea. Hell, all of the scenes on Ilium had been part of his induction into the Knight Nine, where the new guy had to leave a message that left no doubt who did it and to make sure no one could ever forget it. That had taken the better part of a night to scheme up something sick enough to impress his teammates.

His senses perking he looked on as his pickup, an armored aircar placed itself off the ledge of the perch he had been using to snipe Ganar Wrang.

"Thanks, Control."

Silence was the only response as he merely wrote it off as the EVIs quirk as he made sure everything he had was gathered one more time and then jumped into car, pausing for a moment as he recognized Nine, her armor covered in the blood of her target.

"That was fast," he murmured, Nine, or River Thames always seemed to surprise you when you didn't expect it. Of course, that was expected of the Hellhound Program, but still, it was a bit off-putting the fact that the young woman was only eighteen and she was doing jobs a battle-hardened veteran twice her age would balk at.

"I was behind my target when the orders came," she answered matter-of-factly, pushing the throttle of the aircar.

He nodded in response, the only interaction needed, he knew Nine preferred to be up-close-and-personal with all of her kills. She had been tasked with eliminating the Black Hand's human leader, Sedris Yelsin.

"You tagged into Control."

She merely nodded as she gunned the engine and they took off.

0000000

"Package secure, Overlord. Proceeding to rendezvous point."

"Roger that Alecto Actual," Lelouch responded as Aria looked on, watching the helmet-cam as the Patriach, bloody and battered, was being hefted by one of black armor-clad individuals that towered over the Krogan.

It wasn't very often to see a Krogan get manhandled by anyone, but to see the Patriach, who had required her to tear out one of his hearts to win, get disabled in just over a minute in hand-to-hand combat was something else.

"It's time," the raven-hair Emperor announced, tapping his ear, "Overlord to all units, commence Stage II."

He then looked over at Aria, nodding,

"I think you will want to watch," he stated, reaching up with his hands and enlarging a series of different helmet cameras.

0000000

Waiting was always the worst part of any operation. You can check, double-check, hell, even triple-check everything before an op and it would go tits-up upon contact.

For Zaeed Massani it was even worse. He was not a patient man, despite his position as the Commander of Tacitus. Give him a job and an objective and he would jump headlong in the fight simply because he could.

Still, no matter what, the wait before the mission always sucked. But sitting in a transport stuck outside Omega awaiting the go order was on a completely different plane of suck. The fact that between you and vacuum was about a half meter of armor plating that was rated for small-arms and nothing else. Yeah, real confidence booster.

Even worse, they were lying doggo, powered down to the lowest setting in order to avoid detection, which meant they were also sitting ducks.

But that was what the mission needed. If they had sortied from inside then the mercenary groups would have received ample warning of the threat.

Checking over his rifle, not Jessie sadly, the old girl just couldn't do what this new SABR could. He had put the old girl out to pasture, choosing to christen the new girl 'Robin', this would be her first firefight.

The mission was really simple, as soon as Phase II would begin, every single transport and gunship sitting outside of Omega would punch it and enter the massive structure, each heading for their objectives. At the same time every exit route for the mercenary groups would be blocked off. When they hit there would be nowhere to run for them on Omega.

His team was tasked with handling the Eclipse mercenaries, the largest of the mercenary groups on Omega, but also the best equipped and trained. That was why he was in command of the unit that would be tasked with the pacifying them.

Looking over the men around him as they all seemed to be focused intently on keeping their nerves in check. He could not help but feel proud of them. He had never had any real love for Britannians, they always seemed to be too cocky or have a proverbial stick up their ass on the concepts of honor, but these men and women all around him were the type of professional soldiers he could lead and fight alongside. And now they would get to actually show that fighting prowess on a galactic stage, because after this day, no one will be able to ignore either Tacitus or Cerberus.

"Overlord to all units, commence Stage II."

And like that, everything snapped to life, what had been a silent communications line suddenly became a cacophony of organized chaos, from his vantage point he could see the various assets powering up and moving forward, his own transport springing to life as he felt the lurch as it translated into motion.

It was time for the games to begin.

Switching to the operational frequency for his strike element he was immediately bombarded with the welcome combat chatter of their flight elements.

"Kestrel, This is Crusader 1-1 Actual," he intoned, "sitrep."

"Crusader 1-1 Actual, this is Kestrel 1-1, we are currently two minutes away from dropoff point, enemy status is null, no air defenses detected, enemy has shown no awareness to our transit. Vulture 1-3 had to check out due to complications from a weapons system fault and is returning back to the barn, Vulture 1-1 and 1-2 are currently one hundred meters ahead of us and running interference."

Still within mission parameters, 1-3 was supposed to be the backup if anything got hairy, but if they could strike hard enough and fast enough then the backup was not necessary.

"Alright," he called out to his men, "ready up, drop in a minute and a half."

What had been nervous energy disappeared into professional calm as the transport's human cargo immediately made last second checks to their equipment even as the transport banked, avoiding one of the structures as it moved.

And so they waited, even as the transport continued its manuevers, the traffic inside Omega getting heavier as air cars and other modes of transportation either ignored their presence or just willingly blundered into their pathways, it wasn't anything to interefere with the mission, Zero had made it clear that Aria could not shut down the air around Omega without setting off just about every single mercenary unit that something was going on. So they had to do it, which gave the enemy a few moments warning.

"Vulture 1-1 and 1-2, this is Overlord, Sky Eye is reporting movement at Drop Zone Alpha, you are to proceed to full combat speed and suppress the landing zone immediately. Kestrel, your window has now decreased to thirty seconds."

"Vulture 1-1 acknowledges," a woman's voice replied.

"Kestrel acknowledges."

"Your heard him Tacitus," he called out, bracing himself as he hit the release, the door on the transport sliding open and providing them with a vantage point as he could see the massive engines on Vulture 1-1 and 1-2 light up as they accelerated ahead. They were both the new Gringolet Gunship just rolled out by Cerberus, and like their namesake, they were designed to be the workhorse for Cerberus in terrestrial warfare for a long time, including for the much-anticipated Reapers. If anything, the design hearkened back to the old jump jets of the Quintipartite War, where the role they fulfilled were whatever was demanded of them. This, like the SABR was to be the first operational use of the weapons system and according to just about everyone in the know that he had talked to, it was expected that they would not fail.

Well, he needed to see it to believe it, he thought as he watched as they passed around the corner and got a good look at their objective in the distance.

"Vulture 1-1 starting gun run."

"Vulture 1-2 starting gun run."

The flat, thick shapes of the Gringolots had just slowed down into a hover just outside the lip of the landing area where a major hangar bay for Eclipse was and just hovered there for a moment. A feed from the helmet of the pilot popped up in his own helmet's HUD, allowing him to see exactly what the pilot was seeing. Everything had stopped inside the hangar as Human, Batarian, and Asari dressed in the yellow and black of Eclipse all froze at the sight of the two gunships.

And then all hell broke lose as twelve Spitfire rotary cannons began unloading into the hangar, the Gringolots hovering there as blue flame belched from both their internal and pod-mounted guns, the only motion they both made were the minute shifting of the nose of the gunships left and right as they strafed the hangar, delivering to everything, both animate and inanimate several thousand rounds of tungsten, setting off explosions and turning soldiers into mist and chunks.

They then pulled off, backing off and turning away before descending into what could have been an easily choreographed airshow dive, but were in fact clearing the flight line for them.

"Vulture 1-1 to Kestrel, you're cleared all the way in, good luck, out."

"1-1 copies."

"1-2 copies all."

"1-3 solid copy."

And then their transport was snapping around, darting into the hangar bay, as soon as it reached the bay, he jumped out, pack kicking in as it slowed him on the small descent down, men following after him as he brought up his weapon, the bull-pup design hugged tightly to his shoulder as he looked through the holographic sight.

"Overlord, Crusader 1-1 Actual, we are on the ground."

He didn't expect a response and he didn't get one

There were thirty of them in all, ten from each transport.

"2-1, 3-1, proceed to objectives, 1-1, on me," Zaeed commanded, moving forward through the massacre, ignoring the scenery and intent on the heavy bulkhead at the end of the hangar.

A soft moan caused him to snap his head to the source, gun already tracking with it, before a gunshot ended the moaning as one of his men ended the suffering of an Asari that had a hole in her side with a single round to the head.

Satisfied he focused back on the lead as they reached the door, another one of his men, Chavez, bringing up his omnitool to hack the door open.

"Vulture 1-1 and 1-2, back on station," came the callout from their air support, just as the door began to open, revealing the main concourse of the zone Eclipse had.

"Move, move," Zaeed commanded, darting through the opening just as Eclipse forces began firing, their organization tattered but not destroyed. He managed to get into cover just as his shields took a few hits, their capacitors working overtime to recharge. One of the others wasn't so lucky as he took the concentrated fire of three Eclipse, his shields collapsing and he took two to the chest, one punching through the armor as he staggered and slid into cover.

"I'm hit."

Zaeed didn't pay attention to that, instead popping out and firing off a quick snapshot to suppress some of the Eclipse while one of the other Tacitus members ran forward throwing up a barrier before tending to the man in question.

He just had enough time to whip around the cover he was on and translate to another piece of cover just before it was a shattered by a biotic throw.

His attacker, an Asari didn't have enough time to get back into cover herself, a sniper round picking her off and leaving her to slump to the ground.

"Price," he snapped, "take MacTavish and Sanderson, to the left and flank them. Westbrook, I want you and Riley to start tagging every hostile you can see."

"Copy," was the unanimous reply, the crisp professionalism all that was necessary for the situation.

"Vulture 1-1 and 1-2, this is Crusader 1-1 Actual, requesting CAS on my position, I have twenty-plus foot mobiles attacking my position."

"Roger that Crusader 1-1 Actual. Be advised, we do not have sight on target due to the wall situated where you are located, are you requesting danger close?"

"Negative Vulture 1-1," Zaeed responded, his feed lighting up with information being supplied by Westbook and Riley, "I'm providing you now with battle feed of friendly and hostile positions, you are to prosecute a gun pass at your discretion."

"...Roger that, Vulture 1-1 and 1-2 copies."

0000000

Captain Samantha Chambers, Vulture 1-1, looked on as the feed was refreshed with updated targeting data from the ground as numerous red icons appeared through the wall that both herself and her wingman, Helena Black were stationed outside.

"Vulture 1-2, gun status?"

"Thirt-three percent, got a little overzealous, Sticks."

"Roger that," she replied noting how she still was resting at forty-six percent. Helena was always a bit trigger happy compared to herself.

"I'll handle the gun pass then," she replied, using the side-mounted sticks that served as the Gringole's flight controls to maneuver into position.

"Crusader 1-1 Actual, guns, guns, guns."

She then held down on the trigger, her gunsight tracing over the red icons on her HUD, watching as the red icons started blinking out, suggesting a hit or kill.

Her guns then ran dry, red flashing on her visor.

"Good effects 1-1," Crusader's voice sounded out.

She was about to reply before Helena's voice interrupted her.

"Sticks, I got two Elbatroz inbound."

She frowned, Elbatroz gunships were an old nightmare of hers, claiming plenty of her friends and even her daughter's father. During The Humiliation they had been nearly unstoppable against the air forces and air defense networks of the Systems Alliance.

But that was eighteen years ago, now the shoe was on the other foot, as these unfortunate mercenaries were about to discover.

"Heartbreaker, take point, switch to air defense."

"Roger, boss ma'am," came his wingman's response, the Gringolet spinning around, allowing its engines flaring to life as it began to accelerate away. She immediately fell in behind Helena.

"Crusader 1-1 Actual, we have enemy air assets engaging us. You're alone."

"Roger that Vulture 1-1, good luck."

"Copy that."

Cutting the communications line as she refocused on the oncoming threat.

While they had deployed solely for the support of the ground troops and were equipped with gun pods, they still retained some defenses for themselves, in this case a pair of Mongoose anti-air missiles.

Luckily for everyone involved the second shooting had begun the airspace been cleared allowing them a clear view all around, and as they dove under a bridge and up, their prey entering into their view as they darted around the corner.

They were already aligning themselves as missiles lept out of their pods, the missiles lining them up as their seekers locked onto them.

_Cocky bastards are snapshotting us with Torgus IRs,_ she thought, _cause us to panic so their Ventus can get a solid paint, not today_.

"Break right," she snapped, feeling the forces act on her as she snapped to the left, already popping flares out of the aft of the gunship in order to confuse the missiles to focus on where she was instead of where she was going. The overall problem was the mercenary pilots hadn't thought straight when they launched the Torgus', the probability of a bow-on kill was negligible because of the the fact that main heat producing end of the target had several meters of metal and components between it and the missile to baffle it. And that was what happened as the missiles sought after the flares instead of the gunships, detonating harmlessly when it believed it had reached the 'kill zone' of the warhead.

She had already straightened herself out from it as she led the Elbatroz along behind her, confident that the younger Helena could handle her quarry. One of the advantages that she knew the Gringolet had over the Elbatroz and even the new Mantis gunship that was just entering military service around the galaxy about to be exploited.

It was actually one of those why didn't anyone think of it before, but maybe because it was so stupidly simple no one paid attention to it, but with the advent of eezo usage to lighten airframes, the previously normal calculations of thrust-to-weight ratios were no longer necessary and were subsequently ignored. It was one of those eureka moments when a light purple haired scientist with an overly fond love of pudding had simply asked the question, "what if we could make a gunship fly horizontally?", such a simple question yet with so many tactical ramifications. With the lack of mass it really didn't matter how much thrust there was to generate horizontal flight, so much as it was just there, was the secret.

Cannon fire pinged off her kinetic barriers as she swerved through Omega, avoiding a tower that jutted out of the superstructure as she grinned ferally, secretly enjoying the thrill of the fight, even though it was a definitely one-sided affair. Reaching an opening, she flicked her wrist, feeling her body being driven into the side of the cockpit as Gringolet sidestrafed, rotating and slowing at the same time, the Elbatroz overshooting the target, passing over her head, even as she rotated the Gringolet back and her own weapons system acquiring the unfortunate Elbatroz that suddenly had the tables turned on it.

Unlike the Elbatroz's Torgus IRMs, the Mongoose missiles she carried was different in that it was a multimode missile, designed to track on two different profiles presented by the target, the gravitic disturbance caused the the eezo usage of the unit and the infra-red signature. It was, quite simply, a new more efficient way of killing, and unlikely to be spoofed or defeated except by the most skilled of pilots, which this mercenary certainly wasn't by what he had done so far.

The growl was the only signal she needed as the missile let her know that it had acquired the target and would no longer need to be slaved to her own systems to hunt it. Satisfied, even as the Elbatroz was desperately juking and jiving while having its ECM scream at its max power setting, she tapped the activation stub, feeling nothing as the missile was dropped from the the internal missile magazine of the Gringolet and its rocket motor activated, the missile already accelerating away as its scramjet engine propelling it into the high mach numbers quickly. The Elbatroz had no chance as it drove right through the rear and into the cockpit before exploding, turning the unfortunate gunship into flaming debris.

"Splash one," she commed, bringing herself back around, noting she only had one more Mongoose left for any threats and no more guns, "Control, this is Vulture 1-1, status on 1-2."

"1-2 has engaged and destroyed her target, she is reporting Winchester and is RTB."

"Roger that Control, I am down to mission incapable now, guns dry, single Mongoose left. Requesting RTB clearance."

"...Clearance granted Vulture 1-1. Alecto Seven has volunteered fire support for Crusader until Raven can arrive on station."

_Alecto Seven? Who the hell is that?_

"Control, I'm not familiar with any Alecto Seven."

"Vulture 1-1, this is Overlord, Alecto 7 is a special operations asset, RTB."

"Copy that Overlord, RTBing."

Sensing the discussion closed, she signed off her communications before settling to return back to to base. Allowing a small measure of peace to wash over her as she flew the gunship back towards the exit of Omega, she glanced over at the small holographic picture secured to the dashboard of her cockpit. It showed a teenage girl with light auburn hair with a grin that seemed to light up the picture leaning on another teen girl with dark hair who seemed to be trying not to smirk while flashing the 'peace' sign. She couldn't help but feel herself smile at the picture, a reminder of what she was fighting for.

She was too much like her father, always the one to cheer up the room in spite of whatever apocalyptic event could be happening. It was just the way Kelly always was. It was probably wrong for her to be so far away from her daughter, but she did all of this so the world could be a better place, so maybe Kelly could find some modicum of enjoyment before things started crashing down again, before her generation had to experience the horrors of war that almost every commander knew was coming.

It was a good thing Kelly never did take to the idea of killing, she was too gentle for that. Instead she was in the military academy to learn the medical profession. Wars always needed medical professionals, medics to mend the body and psychiatrists to mend the soul. Kelly would be the latter.

Oriana, her best friend, on the other hand...Well, she took too much after her sister.

But that didn't stop her from actually being a little less of a frigid bitch that her sister was thanks to Kelly.

She smiled at that thought.

000000

"GRENADE!"

Zaeed reacted immediately, darting back into cover before the grenade clattered past, an overthrow, and detonated, spall bouncing off his barriers and draining them nearly to deplection.

Even with Vulture's support the fighting was getting even more fierce, they had cleared the concourse and were pushing towards the barracks now, Eclipse desperately trying to not give another millimeter of ground. They knew the score now and they were intent on not losing. But slowly, but surely, they were losing, and they were getting even more desperate. Already they had stopped a suicide rush of civilians strapped with explosives, how they found them, he didn't know, but he had lost a good man when he had tried to wing a child and disable the explosive, only to get it remotely detonated in his face, taking him and the child in the ensuing devastation. This had been his first combat op.

"DeVries, 2 o'cloak, 100 meters, upper floor booth, put a forty mike in there."

A dutiful cough was the only reply as a 40mm grenade was launched through the window where a sniper had been pinning them down, detonating in an airburst as its sensor head detected a target, killing the sniper.

Then Devries went flying as a blue blur slammed into him, an Asari with its pistol already translated into a standing position as she shot him as he flew crashing into a set of boxes, shields shimmer before collapsing into nonexistence, a round smashing into his visor.

Zaeed was already reacting, his rifle training upon the blue bitch and dumping the entire remnants of the mag into her, causing the Asari to turn into a bloody ragdoll, just as DeVries staggered back up, his helmet with a hole in it.

"Can you fight," Zaeed demanded as he ejected a magazine and placed in a new one, pulling back the slide to chamber a fresh round.

DeVries nodded his head, moving into cover with his grenade launcher before typing something on his omnitool.

'_Blue bitch put a hole in my cheek'_

"Consider yourself lucky," he snapped back.

"Crusader 1-1 Actual, this is Alecto Seven, I am on station and ready to provide assistance," came a new voice, this was seemed to command respect even as it made it's statement.

_Alecto...Alecto...well shit, could it be one of the Emperor's little choir boys has decided to honor us with his presence?_

"What can you give me Alecto Seven?"

"Activate your tactical beacons and find out."

"Right," Zaeed stated, "you heard him, activate your beacons."

As soon as that was done, Alecto began speaking again.

"Thank you."

"Alecto Seven what is-"

_**CRACK!**_

"What the hell," Price snapped, causing Zaeed to look to the source as he watched as a blue streak punch through the wall and into an unaware Batarian, the body falling to the ground.

_**CRACK!**_

This time a human was the unfortunate victim.

_What the hell weapon is he using_, Zaeed thought with shock.

000000

"Scoped and dropped," John muttered, the temperature in the aircar becoming unbearable as the rifle spewed out heat from the usage, the rails not exactly designed for this type of maintained usage, usually requiring thirty seconds to cool before another shot was fired, not once every five second.

Yet, for Crusader he needed to do it, in spite of the risk of the damn rifle blowing up, Eclipse was a lot more numerous and desperate than even Overlord had anticipated.

And they had used children.

John growled at the very thought as he spotted an Asari that getting into a stance to use her biotic powers, only for him to disembowel her from a round fired from the rifle.

"Seven," Nine called back, "you need to slow down, if you don't the rifle-"

"Shut up Nine," he hissed angrily at her as his head turned to face her, her helmet was off and her expression was one of calculation.

"Are you compromised," she asked, causing him to pause whatever retort to die in his throat. It was a question any OSI operative, especially a member of the Knight Nine feared. It was innocuous but it meant so much, to be compromised meant that you were unable to proceed with the mission, to be compromised was to admit that you had let yourself come before the mission.

Taking a deep breath, he let it out, "No. I am not, I am angry. Those...things used civilians as bombs, they are animals and they need to be put down."

She looked at him levelly, but there was a flicker of anger in her eyes, before she turned back to the controls of the aircar.

"Then don't ruin the rifle," she stated, "I want you to get as many as you can before you run out of ammunition."

_Did River just...no, that couldn't be._

"Understood," he replied, thankful that River had pulled him back from doing something stupid, as he acquired a human sniper, not even waiting for a moment to pull the trigger sending another one of those heartless bastards to hell.

"Scoped and dropped."

0000000

He didn't know who Alecto Seven was, but if he ever met the man, he'd buy him a drink Zaeed had decided. What had been a slogging mess before, they now had breathing room as they pushed on the barracks of Eclipse, any attempt to erect a defense being disrupted by precision fire support that seemed to not have any problem in passing through any surface. He was coming to suspect that it was some new anti-material rifle.

"Crusader 1-1, Crusader 2-1, generator farms have been captured."

"Copy that 2-1."

That was good, if the generator farms had been lost the entire sector would have to be evacuated until a suitable replacement could be installed.

"3-1, status on environmental control?"

"Hold one 1-1," came the response.

"I don't have one," Zaeed snapped back, doing a quick mag check and recognizing he was down to his last one. If he was in a bad situation, he had no doubt the rest of his team had the same issue. It was one of the problems having such a vastly different weapon that had no compatibility with existing weapons. They either needed to figure out how to pack in more ammunition or figure out a way to manufacture it on the field to replace it.

"1-1, 3-1, environmental control is under control."

And that was the last piece for the operation to succeed. With Eclipse pushed back into one last stronghold and his men controlling the environmental controls, it was now simply a case of gassing the rats until they came out guns blazing or simply went out with a whimper.

"3-1, 1-1, hold one," he then looked over his men, even though he couldn't see their faces he knew they were weary. They had already suffered two combat casualties, one KIA, one incapacitated. It was just their seven against whatever Eclipse had left in their.

"Mag check."

Listening to the report he could only frown as his concerns were founded, they were all down to either their last mag or their second to last mag. They still had a clutch of grenades and some grenade launcher ammunition.

"Alecto Seven, Crusader 1-1 Actual, whats your ammo status?"

"Winchester."

_Shit._

"Copy that, Alecto."

"Hold one, Crusader 1-1 Actual."

0000000

"Overlord, this is Alecto Seven, requesting ground deployment to assist Crusader 1-1. They are reporting low ammunition."

"Are you sure Alecto Seven?"

"Positive Overlord."

"Nine's with you correct?"

"Correct."

"Request approved, take Nine with you."

He then looked back to River and his mask met her eyes.

"Your ready for this?"

She didn't say anything, instead reaching for her own helmet and secured it. She then took them down.

0000000

"Crusader 1-1 Actual, this is Alecto seven, we are coming for support, eta three minutes."

_Well, it looked like he would get to meet the man behind the voice_ _and he's bringing support._

"Roger that Alecto Seven."

Like clockwork they arrived, a man and a woman dressed in angular black armor carrying suppressed SABRs, causing Zaeed to raise an eyebrow as he his suspicions were confirmed. There was only one unit that carried suppressed SABRs and suddenly he felt they would be a lot of help. It wasn't every often you were graced with the presence of any member of the Knight Nine.

"Alecto Seven," he greeted the larger man, who merely gave a clipped nod.

"This is Nine," he stated, motioning towards her, "we'll take the point on this, is that the only exit?"

"That isn't sealed," Zaeed replied, "Crusader 2-1 after they secured the generator farm deployed two teams to cover the other two exits."

"Right."

The woman then moved forward placing a bag down at Zaeed's feet.

"We cleaned out our transport for ammunition, there sixteen more mags in there."

"Thanks," the older man replied, motioning towards Price who took the bag and moved back to the team, withdrawing two magazines himself before passing it around.

"So...Knight Nine?"

There was a minute stiffening that would have been imperceptible to the untrained eye, but it was all there to confirm it for him.

"There are twenty three hostiles in the barracks," Seven stated, changing the subject.

"Right," he could only response, sensing that the discussion on their identity was closed, "we'll set up in a semi circled an concentrate our fire on the door, if they don't come out from the gas attack, then we shouldn't have a problem. The oxygen supply on Eclipse armor only provides them about twenty minutes before exhaustion. Where are you going to be?"

"We'll be at the door engaging in close combat," Seven replied, holding up a hand to stop a protest, "don't worry about hitting us, we're running the latest in shields, we can take a few rounds before having to worry and if that's a problem, we're biotics, we can 'port out."

"Alright then," Zaeed responded, "we can work with that."

0000000

"Crusader 2-1, gas 'em."

"Roger that."

"How long do you think it will take for them to realize they have been gassed," Sanderson asked.

"Environmental sensors should alert them within fifteen seconds of the introduction of nerve agent into the air," came the matter-of-fact response from the female Knight Nine, which caused the entire discussion to die an abrupt death, they couldn't see her or her partner, having disappeared into cloak over a minute ago.

After that Seven finished, "After that it depends on the commander in charge's reaction. Anyone without their helmet on is dead incapacitated in fifteen seconds, dead within thirty seconds after that. Odds are he or she will push out throwing everything in a last ditch effort since we have not offered terms of surrender."

"Gas introduced, 1-1."

"Copy that 2-1."

_Now we wait,_ Zaeed thought as he raised his weapon back up on the shoulder, sighting down the door.

Soon enough the door snapped open, the safety system obviously overridden to open it quickly. Eclipse mercs launching out rockets at positions where they believed his men were, only to be scythed down by fire from the shadows, the Knight Nine already keying them in before anymore could be launched. The only cost for Zaeed and his men being the some spalling from the explosions.

That was when all hell broke loose as a sound of a cloth ripping, tracers suddenly darting out of the barracks door, the line of rounds picking up and tearing off the head off one of the Tacitus members, Sanchez. A construction mech that had been torn apart and had armor and weapons slapped onto it stepped front and center. A globe suddenly enveloping the mech as DeVries' grenade launcher barked, rounds exploding harmlessly against the blue sphere before machine cannon fire ripped back out in response, DeVries barely getting back into cover before it started getting ripped apart, the rest of Tacitus and their accompaniment firing rounds into the mech, watching as the barrier finally collapsed, but those rounds hammered against the mech's own shields.

Zaeed's magazine emptied, causing him to get back into cover as now the mech was spreading its fire, each arm tracking different targets, this time focused on him.

He was down to his last magazine, as he slammed home the magazine, coming back out and firing, being rewarded with another globe being generated.

"They have two Asaris providing biotics coverage," Seven's voice called out, "repositioning. Nine on me. Crusader, keep up the fire."

"That might be a problem," snarled back one of them men, Sanderson, who now unholstered his sidearm and began firing, "I'm out."

0000000

"Nine, you see them," John asked, his weapon sighted on the pair of Asari's positioned behind cover so any fire could not pick them off, rotating their biotics usage to defend the mech. One of them was barking out commands on her headset even as her face was covered in a breathing mask.

"Affirmative."

"Take them down," he commanded, his SABR coughing as he stitched the unaware Asari up as River did the same.

That dealt with one problem, the issue now was the ammunition situation for Crusader and the damnable mech. Crusader didn't have enough armament to take it down, and their suppressed weapons would probably be enough to compromise the armor, but probably not kill it.

"Seven, we're going to have to go close on it."

"Right," she responded, he watched her outline as she replaced her rifle before withdrawing her tools of the trade, an axe and short sword.

"Go for the joints, I'll handle the pilot," he stated, he had left his sword back on the _Serenity_, but he that didn't mean he didn't have an idea on how to handle the mech.

0000000

"I'm out," came the cry of another one of his men.

It was the growing story as that was the sixth man to run out of ammunition, he was the same way, the mech was starting to show the battering it was taking from their concentrated weapons fire, but the heavy armor plating that only a construction mech could carry was preventing them from getting a lucky hit. Instead, it was pitted and scarred from their weapons fire.

He should have brought his own grenade launcher, but they had written it off as unnecessary weight. They needed to strike quickly, so any extra weight was detrimental...well hindsight was a bitch.

At least the Asari were taken down and they had prevented Eclipse from breaking out, the bodies laying around the mech indicative of their success. But there still remained the mech, and the Knight Nine were missing.

Suddenly the mech staggered as it moved forward, losing its balance, causing him to frown before he spotted a black form come out from behind the mech as it fought to prevent itself from toppling, fluid flying out the back of its legs, before another black clad form appeared in a puff of blue, catching a blade thrown by the form that had just completed the damage to the legs, before spinning the blade around and jamming it into where the cockpit should be, the blade piecing into the armor, before tossing the blade down and pulling out his rifle, and pointed it at the cut made into the armor, SABR letting out a stream of soft pops as it fired point-blank.

The mech's motions which had become frantic as it tried to aim its arm towards the threat provided by the man on top of him, but then the arms fell limp. The man then jumped down to the ground, landing into a crouch and walked towards Zaeed as if this were an everyday occurrence.

He didn't say anything as he strode by Zaeed and his team, while Nine fell in behind him, sheathing her short sword.

"Thanks Seven."

The Knight Nine froze for a moment, before walking ahead again.

"It's John," came the response, obviously on a private line to him.

Then both Knight's disappeared back into cloak, leaving Zaeed to look to tending over his men.

0000000

"Overlord, this is Assassin 1-1 Actual, Blood Pack neutralized, three KIA, seven WIA, two critical but likely to survive."

"Overlord, this is Paladin 1-2, Black Hand suppressed, one KIA, two WIA, zero criticals."

"Overlord, this is Spartan 1-1 Actual, Green Wave destroyed. no KIA, no WIA."

"Overlord, this is Immortal 1-1 Actual, Vertigo pacified, no KIA, six WIA, zero criticals."

"Overlord, this is Crusader 1-1 Actual, Eclipse annihilated, two KIA, four WIA, one critical."

"Understood, all units, good job, Overlord out."

And then Lelouch cut the link, letting out a deep sigh. The entire operation had gone a lot better than he had expected, but any losses were still too much. He had messed up with the Blood Pack and Eclipse, underestimated both of them. Even with the liberal usage of air support and the crippling of their command structure, they had been able to react and put up a resistance.

Still, they had achieved it, but he would make it a point to personally console the families that had lost their loved ones in this operation. It was the only thing he could do as an act of contrition for those who had sacrificed themselves for the world they were trying to build.

Closing his eyes for a moment, before reopening them as he turned around to look at Aria. She had not left his side for the last two hours as she had watched the operation happen through the eyes of his men and women. Watched as they fought, bled, and kill. As far as he knew, Cerberus was the only group that actually used head-mounted recorders and live streaming of combat operations for the command center, so it must have been jarring for the pirate queen.

"As promised," he stated solemnly, "two hours and almost all of the mercenary units have been liquidated."

"So I can see," Aria responded, her eyes narrowed on the display as the images started disappearing, their existence no longer required. Now she refocused solely on the raven-haired emperor, for someone so young to command so much. She knew the burden of command and control, but she had hundreds of years of maturity, this young human was at the equivalent age of a Maiden, supposed to be discovering for themselves their role in the galaxy, not commanding persons to kill and die.

"So, I have held up my end of the bargain, all that is required is that you hold yours."

She frowned at the tone of his voice, but then again, she could understand it, when you did something for someone, you expected immediate payment, and even upstanding pirates such as herself had from time to time broken a promise.

"Omega shall be a staging point for your forces. I am an Asari of my word," she replied curtly, her hands balling into a fist, she didn't like this, but she did owe this child, and she didn't back out on her debts unless it was disadvantageous of her, and Britannia had been supporting her regime through the massive purchases they made through Omega, so it was more than likely that this young man was the one pulling the strings for that as well.

"Very well then," Lelouch replied, "I will be in contact with you concerning arrangements for when my people are ready, I will allow you time to set up whatever you need so we don't impact you too harshly, and as promised, Tacitus, as soon as they are ready, will take up the security arrangements."

"That is acceptable, I take it you need to be going then."

He nodded, "I have a few other details I need to arrange before we started arriving at Omega. I'll have my men see you out."

Sensing the dismissal and somewhat grateful for it, she turned to walk away.

"Oh, and Aria," Lelouch called out, "I have one rule, much like yourself, well, not so much of a rule as much as a helpful quote to remind me of things."

"And that is?"

He turned around and smiled, causing her to unconsciously shiver at an expression well beyond its wearer's years.

"On what slender strings do life and fortune hang."

The door behind her opened up, revealing three black armored troops with the unconscious form of the Patriarch on their shoulders. They proceeded to walk past her and toss him on the ground at the Emperor's feet.

"Vi Britannia. When you are done with him I would like him back."

"And why is that?"

"He has...sentimental value..."

"I see. I'll have him turned over to your custody before I leave. Good day, Aria."

0000000

_There's someone I can most definitely work with_, Lelouch though as Aria stepped out of the chamber to join her bodyguards. As the door closed, he looked at the unconscious Krogan, gone was the warmth and normalcy he had just shown Aria.

"Wake him," he commanded.

The titan of the Knight Nine, Three, proceeded to heft up the Krogan and punched him in the midsection, causing the Krogan's eyes to flutter open a groan escaping his lips.

Then it was as if a switch had been flipped, the Krogan's eyes snapped open and he began to struggle, only to find himself unable to move.

"What is this," he snarled, "who are you?! If Aria-"

"Aria knows of your betrayal, Patriarch," he stated as he mustered a glare at the Krogan, "I want to know who put you up to it."

"Why don't you let your flunky let me go and get it from me yourself?!"

_Typical Krogan posturing_, he though with a mental sigh, as expected. Concentrating, he summoned up his Geass, staring the struggling Krogan straight in the eyes.

"Tell me everything I wish to know," he commanded.

"As you wish, Your Majesty," the Krogan replied, expression becoming blank after a few moments of struggling, obviously the Krogan had some level resistance to Geass, _interesting_.

"Who put you up to overthrowing Aria T'Loak?"

"I don't know. They approached me two years ago claiming they could put me back in power."

"Who was your contact?"

"An Asari dancer in Afterlife was my initial contact, after that all communications were done through dead drops on extranet forums, they would then contact me through a secure channel on the extranet. Never saw a face."

"How did they fund it?"

"All money was depisited into the merc accounts via one use accounts. They would be dead ends for backtracking. Though one Eclipse merc claimed the money was wire-transferred from Ilium."

_Ilium then, interesting._

"What did they want in return for helping you?"

"Basing rights, resource rights, and for Omega to bar all Britannian traffic and citizens to and from Omega."

Now THAT was useful information. There was someone else out there with some interest in damaging Britannia, other than the Turians. Even this was too underhanded and Machiavellian for them.

"Is there anything else?"

The Krogan shook his bony head, "Eclipse might have something else. They seemed to be the ringleader of the mercs when I wasn't giving them orders."

"Very well," he replied, powering down his Geass and turning away, placing a hand on head to ward the headache he knew was coming away.

"Take him back to Omega," he commanded.

"What did you do to me you Pyjack shit," the Patriarch demanded, becoming aware again, even as he was beginning to be dragged away, continuing to yell obscenities as Lelouch closed his eyes.

As the door shut the whispers exploded, no longer restrained by the external stimuli to duel with them. Offers of power, wealth, family, were all caressing him with their temptation, before turning into cursing and screaming, demanding that he fulfill the Cycle as he fought to put them down one by one.

A hand on his shoulder caused the voice to disappear as Lelouch snapped his head to look at Jeremiah who had a worried look on his face.

"What is it, Jeremiah," he asked, suddenly feeling tired.

"I was about to ask you, Your Majesty, you were staring off into space and not responding to me."

"Sorry, was just distracted by what the Patriarch said," he lied, noting that Jeremiah didn't seem convinced, but let it drop.

"You knew our intelligence networks can't be everywhere. We can't trip the Citadel to the fact Cerberus uses AIs for SIGINT and intrusive datamining."

"I know, and our HUMINT will need another decade before we have it to the level we need it. We might have to outsource it for the time being."

"Lelouch, you aren't suggesting we use _them_?"

"It may be a necessary evil that we have to compromise ourselves on. They have the infrastructure and I have leverage on their leader."

"But they will more than likely betray us sooner or later."

"We'll just have to make sure when they do they will not live long enough to revel in their success."

Jeremiah nodded, sensing the finality of the statement

"Two more things. I want a sweeper team going over everything Eclipse has and where is Kallen?"

"I'll see to it and Lady Stadtfeld is currently on Camala investigating a Saren lead."

"Thank you Jeremiah, you are dismissed."

"Your Majesty," Jeremiah conceded, casting a long glance at Nicolai past Lelouch.

He slumped into his chair, looking over at Nicolai who had been watching him the entire time.

"Not a word of any of this to Nunnally, Sayoko."

"But Master Lelouch," 'Nicolai' spoke-

"Not a word," he insisted, "she's already worried enough about me. I don't need her to have anymore concerns than she already has. It's just different not having Kallen around."

"But-"

"That's what it is and nothing else," he warned darkly.

'Nicolai's' face disappeared, a hologram, to reveal Sayoko who stared at him, for a few moments before finally conceding her own defeat in the clash of wills.

"As you wish Master Lelouch."

"Thank you Sayoko. You can go now."

The ninja-maid didn't say anything else to him, instead intent to go an hunt down C.C. to see if she could get her to reach out to her younger charge.

With her gone, Lelouch was left to himself on his impromptu throne planning for a meeting he was not looking forward to.

* * *

_**Glossary of Terms:**_

**ENCONMISO:** Emissions control mission only

**Sitrep:** Situation Report

**CAS:** Close Air Support

**Winchester:** Weapons depleted

**RTB:** Return to Base

**WIA: **Wounded in Action

**SIGINT:** Signal intelligence

**HUMINT:** Human intelligence

* * *

A/N:

To paraphrase the white rabbit:  
We're Late!  
We're Late!  
For a very Important Date!  
No time to say "Hello, Goodbye"  
We're Late! We're Late! We're Late!

Anywho, two and a half days late, not bad considering the distractions for all of us. This chapter was originally to have a lot more different scenes, but the battle on Omega just seemed to turn into this gigantic monster as it was written. Hopefully you have enjoyed this glimpse of the scope of the battle we are trying to encapsulate as both a somewhat departure from early Mass Effect, but also as a glimpse of the scope of what we have for the future battles as things get larger and larger as we go on.

For the beginning of the battle when Zaeed gets the go signal, might we suggest the music selection of turning up Hans Zimmer's Onward, for those of your gamers familiar with that theme, you will know inspiration for much of the early fighting.

Anyways, that's it for this chapter, other than a question we would like to ask you if you would prefer us taking a hiatus to work up more material, or simply posting as we go instead of by any schedule. We'd like your thoughts in the reviews.

Also, thank you for those of you who have shared your displeasure with the direction of the Kallen and Lelouch thing, it has been sticking in the craw of a few of use how it seemed force, and not naming anyone, but when the writer was working it up, even he was unhappy with it.

Until next time everyone.


	10. The Citadel

**Chapter 8**

**The Citadel**

**0741 Local Time**

**April 19th, 2175 (18 AH)**

**Citadel**

**Widow, Serpent Nebula**

"Councilor Tevos."

"Councilor Balin," the Asari greeted, standing up from behind her desk to come around greet the Salarian councilor, "to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Actually, it's soon-to-be-former Councilor," the Salarian stated, "my replacement is on his way from Sur'Kesh, I am being recalled."

"Oh. My apologies."

"Unnecessary. The Dalatress is taking precautions to prevent an untimely demise from disrupting the Council. Merely preemption."

"Please, take a seat," she motioned to the chair in front of her desk, the Salarian taking it, allowing her to return back behind her desk, "drinks?"

The Salarian shook his head.

"And who will be your successor, if I may ask?"

"Valern. Inflexible. Prideful. Unwilling to get hands dirty. Troublesome."

She frowned, those were the characteristics that were...contrary to what Balin and herself been working on, in fact it ran more in hand with...

"Why the Goddess would the Dalatrass select someone who is more in line with Avitus?"

The Salarian shifted uncomfortably for a moment, his black eyes blinking a few times.

"She was displeased with the decision to not demand Britannia turn over all of its research on the new medigel it is producing."

"Of all the-"

The Salarians had always prided themselves on the scientific prowess, so when the System Alliance's Sirta Foundation had introduced medigel to the Citadel and changed the medical world overnight the Salarian Union had been incensed. They had actively tried to push Council law down on it, intent on banning the technology, then reverse-engineering it to release it for themselves with an exception to the law.

It had failed. They had all three voted against it. Avitus had been a surprising vote, but then again, the Turians were growing restless with the 'human situation', if the HSA could economically support themselves it could mean they could draw down somewhat, and the added benefit was the HSA was stronger to keep an eye on Britannia.

Then two months ago Britannia had announced a breakthrough in which they had improved medigel by a startling seventy-three percent. It was unthinkable, but the clinical data and STG reports confirmed it. Last week, Avitus had called a Council meeting to vote on a measure that would force Britannia to turn over all research concerning the medigel. They had both voted it down, citing caution, noting that Britannia had produced this new medigel from its Phantom Works, an entity that they had frighteningly little on, that seemed to be solely military-oriented in their research. If they had released the news to the Citadel and the Citadel turned around and confiscated it, it was all but assured this Phantom Works and Britannia would not be willing to share any further breakthroughs that could improve the quality of life for the Citadel and improve their overall military prowess.

It was an olive branch, as the humans would say, Britannia had already proven itself in several fields and were revisiting several other fields that had been abandoned. The risk and reward was too great to deny the Britannians this chance.

This wasn't to say the Systems Alliance wasn't offering things, but it was through the caveat of what the Turians didn't claim for themselves first and could get away with it. But it was an agreement between Balin and Tevis that Turians were not so much interested in their assigned roles as the 'caretakers' of the Systems Alliance and were more interested in cementing the balance of power they had enjoyed since the Krogan Rebellions.

She had a well-supported suspicion the overzealous Turian response at Relay 314 and subsequent events had nothing to do with the 'criminality' of activating a relay and more about preventing a possibly legitimate contender to their status. Of course, she could not accuse them of anything because they had followed the law set up after the Rachni War. Still, it worked out too well in the end for the Turians.

The Turians had thrown a fit when they had decided to let Britannia continue and sadly, it appeared the Dalatrass was not pleased with Balin if she was replacing him at this juncture.

"My apologies," she finally controlled herself, irritated with her loss of self-control.

"It's unnecessary. It was the right thing to do," Balin responded, "I'm not here to discuss my replacement. Have you been informed of the events on Omega?"

She frowned, trying to recall anything about Omega from any of the briefings she had received. Aria T'Loak rated up there with a pain in the Asari Republics ass because of how she flaunted herself in a manner completely unbefitting an Asari. Anything concerning Omega that the Republic had learned should have reached her...

"No," she responded finally, satisfied in that she didn't have anything that would warrant a visit from Balin.

"Troublesome, seems Aria has been successful in preventing dissemination of information," the Salarian muttered, reaching into his robes and withdrawing a datapad and placed it on Tevo's desk for her to peruse.

"First, you recall an incident about ten years ago when all of the Citadel news services were hacked?"

"...Yes, I believe so. It was some organization that called itself Cerberus. It made a speech talking about injustices inflicted upon humanity or something like that. If I recall, the STG and Spectres wrote it off as a pro-human group wanting attention. But what does Omega have to do with-"

She stopped talking as at the sight of a ship on the datapad that she was looking through. It was larger than a Turian cruiser if the scale looked right, but it wasn't a design she recognized at all. The emblem on the side of the ship was of no known species or organization she had seen before.

"This was taken four days ago outside Omega. This isn't the only ship, including this ship called the Serenity, there were two ships larger than frigate class accompanying it, along with freighters outfitted to launch strike craft and troop transports."

"Goddess," Tevos breathed, "what about Omega?"

"Still under Aria's control. It was the mercenary groups on Omega that were the target. According to my sources what is left of the mercenary groups on Omega can barely fill a shuttle."

"And this is Cerberus?"

Balin nodded.

"How? There's no shipyard in the Traverse and Terminus Systems that can produce a cruiser. And here you're saying that not only this is a cruiser, but it's a cruiser for an organization that has an anti-Turian agenda."

"Unfortunately," Balin responded, "all we have on Cerberus is this sighting and the fact that the human's main religious leader is possibly pro-Cerberus based upon some of his off-the-record statements."

"Goddess, this is one headache. Is it possible that one of the human nations are supporting this group?"

"Unlikely. The ships in question are more advanced than current Britannian and Systems Alliance hulls. Unable to be more specific, frigate was forced to withdraw due to detection and challenge."

"Did they identify themselves?"

"No. Challenge was sent in tight-beam. Text-only. Salarian language."

"And the team on the ground," she asked, filing away to query if the STG frigate captain was sloppy or they were actually detected, the second part more disconcerting than the first.

"Observed most of the battle. Tacitus ground forces, Cerberus transports and air support. Well organized, well-executed. Terminated the mercenary leaders, then moved in to strike, swift, vicious, over in less than two hours. Team leader described it as watching an STG strike team in action."

"Weapons? Tactics?"

"Weapons are...odd. Mass-effect based, larger projectile based upon analysis of corpses, but uses magazines. New type of gunship, still analyzing data on performance, multirole. Tactics similiar to STG combined arms principles and fast-strike doctrine, but with twist."

Placing down the pad and massaged her forehead, Goddess this was fast becoming a nightmare.

"You mentioned a Tacitus..."

"Mercenary group, all human, almost all Britannian ex-pats, headquartered out of Ilium. Widely onsidered one of the best mercenary outfits for military operations, select clientele, no legal troubles, leader is a Zaeed Massani, former Systems Alliance commando, discharged after the Relay 314 War. Freelance until co-founding the Blue Suns, renamed Tacitus after partner attempted to take over."

So there was nothing they could use as leverage to get some answers out of them. More than likely they just provided the soldiers for this operation. But if they executed a military option like this, then the amount they would be paid would be significant...significant enough to trace

"I'll have Ilium run a check on Tacitus. We'll track the money and see if we can get to the bottom of Cerberus before resorting to other methods. I think we need to find out the why on Omega, it's a major Element Zero hub, the fact that all of this happened without us knowing is a major concern. There has to be a reason this Cerberus is interested in Omega to show something like this. The problem being that Aria won't even give us the time of day even if we begged."

"We could ask the Britannians to inquire," Balin stated simply, "they have a close relationship with Aria. Economically, they are one of the top buyers of T'Loak's surplus Element Zero stocks. There is also that unconfirmed rumor that T'Loak's daughter traveled to Pendragon for private military and intelligence tutelage a few days ago."

_What?! _Tevos thought, while keeping her expression neutral. _Aria sent her where?!_

One of the worst decisions in her life had been becoming smitten with Aria T'Loak over a hundred years ago while working on Omega as a go-between for eezo shipments between Omega and Thessia, it still left a bad taste in her mouth just remembering how she had been attracted to Aria's rogueish sense of invincibility she seemed to ride after taking Omega. It had been a fling, pure and simple, a regrettable circumstance in her case, but it had produced a child that could prove to be...problematic for her societal standing she was no Matriarch Benezia, especially considering the father. So she had left Omega and Liselle, returning to Thessia to where shortly thereafter she was appointed to the Citadel Council.

There were of course times she would discretely check up on her daughter, using discrete sources, if it came out she had a pureblood daughter it would not be pleasant, and she had discovered that Liselle was too much like her father, self-assured, aggressive, and fiendishly effective at the job she did as one of her father's enforcers.

And now she was in Britannia. Negating almost every single of her discrete methods of information gather.

"I will discuss such an inquiry from the Ambassador. It is more than likely she will accept such a small request. Unfortunately, I don't feel we can do anything about Cerberus other than alerting the STG and our Spectres to keep the Council apprised of any information they find. It is more than likely Cerberus is based out of the Terminus Systems. We can't do anything overt or we'll risk igniting a possible war that we are trying to avoid."

"A most logical choice."

"And what will you do after you return to Sur'Kesh, my friend?"

"Will probably serve as an advisor to the director of the STG," Balin responded, "my knowledge and expertise should be useful, along with my...sense of caution."

She understood the underlying meaning, while he would no longer be able to make the decisions, he could help influence them in a way that would lessen her troubles on this end.

"I am most grateful for any effort you can make in the regard, Councilor. Thank you."

0000000

Dealing with the Britannian ambassador was always an...interesting experience, Tevos reflected as she slipped into Apollo's Cafe, her pair of bodyguards in loose tow. It was very rare to find the young Britannian in her embassy, instead more often than not she held meetings at the Cafe itself in a more private section on one of the balconies.

She walked through the Cafe ignoring the other patrons as she strode to her destination, her eyes meeting the dark-skinned Knight of the Round that was stationed a distance away from her charge before proceeding past her, her bodyguards staying with the Knight.

It was then she came upon her objective, Ambassador Euphemia li Britannia of the Holy Britannian Empire, who was silently reading a datapad while sipping a drink.

She seemed to sense her presence, looking up and flashing a warm smile as she stood up, her pink hair spilling out behind her.

"Councilor Tevos, how can I help you?"

Seven and a half years ago, the Council had awarded Britannia with an embassy, recognizing the growth had earned them a spot, it had caused a bit of a furor in the Citadel, but given a few months it should have died down.

Should have being the operative word.

Instead, when the first Britannian ambassador to the Citadel had been revealed to be a little girl, the Citadel had literally reignited in outrage at how Britannia was insulting the prestigious honor being bestowed upon them by placing a child in the position.

Tevos still remembered the headaches caused by the incessant screeching by the Turians and the newly installed Ambassador Bhatnagar of the Systems Alliance demanding Britannia be censured for their actions. And so she and Balin had acceded to the demands, summoning the Britannian 'ambassador' and Prime Minister to render it.

That was when Euphemia li Britannia proves the veritable fact that she was an ambassador when she offered counterargument after counterargument undermining the entire censure process by highlighting that nowhere in the Citadel laws was there anything that did not permit her appointment, only noting that only disqualifications that allowed the Citadel Council the ability to bar an ambassadorial appointment was if the ambassador was recognized to have knowingly and maliciously violated Citadel law in the pursuance of an act that undermined or sought to damage the Citadel. None of which Britannia and by extension herself, had done.

In fact, she noted, that if anyone should be censured, under the Citadel law, it should be the Turians. At Shanxi, the Turians had cruisers launch an orbital bombardment of a Garden world, a direct and blatant violation of the Citadel Convention. In addition, there were several documented cases of Turians executing POWs and civilians in non-combat areas, another violation Citadel Convention.

When Councilor Avitus noted that humanity violated those same conventions, Euphemia brushed off, noting that the Systems Alliance did in fact honor the conventions once they were made aware of it. They had made several entreaties to Turian field commanders requesting prisoner exchanges because neither could support the POWs they had captured. The Systems Alliance had even offered to arrange shipments of food and medicine for the civilians the Turians had captured. Outside of Eden Prime, these were ignored.

It was an ugly affair to say the least, the airing of Turian faults always were. But to watch a child go up against the Turian Councilor in debate was nothing short of intense, the verbal thrusting and parrying that the two underwent as they sought to attain dominance quickly cemented that not only was Euphemia li Britannia capable of doing her job, but she was well beyond her years in skill in the political game.

That had been seven years ago, and over that time, Tevos had seen up front and personally exactly that the young pinkette could easily pass as an Asari in regards to her wit and charm. There was just something to her that made anyone who talked with her listen. Tevos sometimes finding herself falling into that trap, the intelligence and confidence she exuded hard to resist

"Do you have a moment Ambassador?"

"Certainly," the young human responded, "I have a meeting with Ambassador Calyn concerning mining contracts on New Carhaix, I was just passing the time reading about Siari."

That certainly surprising. Not many people outside of the Asari showed interest in the pantheistic religion that many of the Asari were apart of. The concept that all was interconnected as one was something that not many races could understand because they preferred to live in the moment. Outside a few that studied it with interest, no one cared.

"And what do you think of it," she asked, taking a seat across from the table, noting that tea was already placed in front of her. The Cafe was surprisingly quick in service, especially with the Ambassador theere.

"It bears striking thematic similarities to many human religions."

"Which ones" Tevos asked inwardly surprised that another race had developed similar belief systems

"Hinduism, Buddhism, Baha'i to name a few, though one can even find similarities in the western Abrahamic religions."

Tevos was not one for theology, never really had been in her life, politics demanded too much of her attention. That wasn't to say she didn't practice her religion, it was merely an admittance that politics left no room for religion when dealing with those who did not share her beliefs.

Still, she should confer with some human specialists to see what their thoughts are concerning this information. Knowledge was power in keeping races in line and if they had insight into them so much the better.

"That's certainly interesting," she stated simply, smiling before sipping her tea, an Asari blend, just the right temp, not too hot, not too cold, the Ambassador knew her too well.

"Indeed, it's very enlightening on the idea of the integration of all spiritual energies into a singular collective unconscious. There has been some debate with the advent of biotics of whether if sentient life is merely the condensation of energy into a corporeal form," Euphemia stated her exuberant attitude easily rubbing off on her, causing Tevos to resist blinking in surprise, "so what is it you need of Britannia, Councilor?"

"You are aware of the events on Omega," Tevos asked, earning a nod from Euphemia.

"I received the report from Pendragon this morning. While the events are regrettable in regards to the bloodshed that could have been avoided. It appears the response was warranted. We are just grateful that the situation was resolved before any massive loss of life and/or disruption of Element Zero production and shipping."

Tevos noted the shift into the royal 'We' a cue that belied that this was the Prime Minister talking. It was one of the verbal cues that seemed to be one of the most difficult to ascertain because it was bases solely on context.

"Are you aware that Aria T'Loak is working with an anti-Turian group that may be terrorists?"

"Most mercenary groups could be considered anti-Turian based upon their stances," Euphemia replied, her demeanor shift barely perceptible, "if you are referring to Cerberus, we are aware they approached Aria and offered their services to solve the problem of the various mercenary groups banded together to overthrow T'Loak."

"Is there anything else?"

"Honestly," Euphemia admitted after a long pause, "there are some theories that he's a rogue OSI agent. We're not proud of it, but there were a few that disappeared after the war who would have an axe to grind with the Turians for killing my father."

She then fell silent for a moment as if thinking about something, causing Tevos to purse her lips into a frown. The Princess wasn't usually this seemingly distracted.

"Is there something the matter?"

"No," Euphemia responded, "was just an errant thought. If there's anything else I may have forgotten I can have it sent to you as well."

"That's...rather generous," Tevos responded with a blink, it wasn't very often that the Ambassador offered what was more than likely OSI information, which meant...

"And what can I do to return this generosity?"

Euphemia smiled wanly, as she leaned folded her hands together, body language screaming a mixture of signs to Tevos.

"I was informed yesterday that Britannian surveys have found a trio of garden worlds located in what we are calling the Avon System. The problem is they are dextro-based worlds that offer nothing to us-"

_Not this again_, Tevos thought with a sigh. If there was one thing that Tevos found quarrel with the young Ambassador, it was the "Quarian Question". Britannia had been quietly moving behind the scenes trying to work up a coalition to challenge the Council on how the Quarians were being treated and to set up the Quarians on a new planet. Princess Euphemia was the loudest of supporters for the measure.

The problem was the Council itself though. The official line was that the Quarians were recidivist criminals that were incapable of changing their ways and awarding them a new home would only perpetuate another Geth Rebellion, Tevos didn't exactly believe that, but what mattered was that the Citadel did.

In actuality, the reason was a lot darker than anyone wished to admit. As long as the Quarian Fleet and the clear threat it presented, the Turians had a reason for their military expenditures. The Salarians on the other hand, at the top levels, despised the Quarians simply they were a threat to their scientific and technological primacy.

Yet Britannia continued to press the matter, noting that the Quarians had spent a generational prison sentence for the crime of their ancestors, that it was't fair to new generations to be punished for the sins of the old.

It was why Britannia had seemed to become a popular Pilgrimage location. If there was any race that seemed to treat them with any modicum of respect as long as their laws were followed, it was the Britannians.

However, Princess Euphemia was even worse than the Britannians in regards to the Quarians. She had taken the Quarian's situation to heart and had made it into a personal crusade. In fact, according to her sources, Euphemia was the very heart of the Quarian rehabilitation movement. Quite impressive for someone who was the equivalent of an Asari child.

"-That is why I would like for you to put forward a motion for debate and a vote for approval."

Taking a few moments to draw it out, she shook her head, it was the only thing she could do in the face of the persistence of the Ambassador.

"You know perfectly well that what you are doing is futile," she stated as gently as she could, "there is no way the Council will approve of such a measure, with or without my vote. I agree with many of your arguments, but the fact of the matter is that the Quarians are a salient issue for both the Hierarchy and the Union to refuse to let go for their own reasons. And even if I vote for it, I would be going against my own people's interest in maintaining the delicate balance we have had in the Council. I'm sorry."

"And so dooming 17 million sentient beings for a crime their ancestors committed to a slow death is justice?"

"It's not a matter of justice and morality," Tevos chided with a frown, "it's a matter of politics. The Turian will never go for it because they need a bogeyman for their military expenditures and it will be a cold day on Palaven before they allow you to absorb the Quarians into a protectorate. The balance of power would be threatened, even with the initial damage done by getting the Quarians on their feet, they will not allow an economic threat like this to pass, as well as the Salarians."

"They are not Numbers," the pinkette stated firmly, her eyes narrowed in barely suppressed anger, "the Citadel Council is perpetuating the very sin that started Quintipartite War on our homeworld."

"Your analogy is incorrect, Ambassador," Tevos responded with her own irritation, "the Quarians no longer have analogical capability to cause the widespread damage you are comparing to. You are pushing the wrong agenda here. There is no way the Hierarchy and the Union will allow this to happen."

"All for 'balance'? Are you listening to yourself Councilor? Balance is a sense of all things being equal, there is nothing equal with the Quarians, they are a race that can offer so much to the Citadel if only they are rehabilitated. And yet, you state that for balance to exist, 17 million beings must die a slow and agonizing death to feed the egos of one race that is vying for more power and another that is more interested in maintaining its own primacy in the fields of its expertise. How is that balance when the powerful only get more power on the backs of the weak and desperate?"

A silence descended over the pair of them, Tevos looking at the young woman who just seemed to never give up on an issue far beyond her years. It was a unique experience to say the least. She had been in the Council for almost five decades, and over those years she could count only a handful of people who would willfullly argue with her on any issue so passionately. It wasn't disrespect that Euphemia showed, it was merely the idealism that simmered beneath the surface that caused her to do what few dared to. It was also one of the reasons Tevos had come to respect her, because even though Euphemia could be a jaded political operator when she needed to, she still had her own idealism. If Tevos was a bit younger, she might have had something more than respect for her.

Letting out a sigh, she closed her eyes, knowing that the young Princess was not going to drop it.

"Alright. I'll give you the floor to put forward the motion this afternoon. Hopefully that is satisfactory?"

"Thank you," Euphemia responded, her smile seemingly taking away the misgivings the Asari had for doing this, she would be burning some political capital, but it was a mere pittance to all that she had.

"However," she stated, holding up her blue hand, "there is one other thing I want answered. It has come to my attention that a rumor has surfaced concerning the daughter of Aria T'Loak, Liselle. Is it or is it not true that Liselle is now in Pendragon?"

"May I ask why you are so curious as to the matters of T'loak's daughter?"

Tevos fell silent, not able to think of a valid reason to give Euphemia without revealing her interest. She could note the strategic interest, but that wouldn't make sense for the Asari to do so, not to mention Britannia would note it to Aria. She had overplayed her hand...

"Liselle is currently receiving instruction from the Knight of One, Two, and Twelve in Pendragon," Euphemia stated, "I can provide you with the details of her progress, since you are her family."

There was no way Tevos could resist showing her surprise, her eyes widening in response. How did they know?!

"We've been aware for about two years now." Euphemia answered the silent thought, "I'm not sure on how we discovered it, just that we know. However, I've ordered the information to be sealed privy only to the royal family and the Director of the OSI. I refuse to have family used as a weapon regardless of the circumstances. It helps I also consider you to be a good friend."

Tevos could shaking off her surprise at the course of events, the shock slowly receding even as her political senses churned the information. She would need time to process all of this, but for now, she had to accept this for what it was and retreat.

"Thank you. I would be very grateful if you would so that. I wasn't a very good parent to her."

"Understandable, I'll let you know when I have them and will deliver them to you myself."

Tevos nodded at the offer, choosing to get up.

"Again, I thank you. I should get going, you have your meeting and I need to arrange the floor for this afternoon. Good morning, Ambassador li Britannia,"

"And to you, Councilor Tevos."

0000000

Euphie watched as Tevos disappeared back into the cafe. Frowning after the Asari was gone, she took a sip of her now-cold tea, the frowning deepening further.

That was about how she had expected it to go when she had gotten the update on what had happened on Omega. The STG just didn't have the assets for the complete coverage the OSI had there. Omega was one of the top three locations the OSI invested their assets and budget on. The other two were Ilium and the Citadel itself. It wasn't known if the STG knew these facts, but based on Tevos approaching her it was more than likely that the STG had an inkling.

Troublesome, Euphie thought silently as she closed her eyes, reviewing the entire discussion and going over it. Thirteen years of training and experience leaving the process honed like a finely sharpened blade

Since the age of four she had been groomed and prepared for just this eventuality. The art of politics and diplomacy drilled into her while her natural warmth and attitude left alone. She was told the purpose by Marianne herself, Britannia needed someone who could woo the Citadel with a natural grace, kindness, and a keen mind. Someone like her.

She hadn't been lying when she told Tevos that she was a good friemd. But she had been lying when she told her that the OSI knew about Liselle. Now she had to decide what to do with that information.

She could go back on her word, but the probability was that it wouldn't do anything to benefit Britannia in the long run. Asari viewed Purebloods as a shameful occurence, and Tevis was rightly concerned, it was just that it would more than likely cause a ripple in the Republic, nothing more. Tevos had a lot more worth than she realized, with several of the Matriarchs quietly approving of her work do far.

No, the information would best be logged away for the tome being. A weapon against Tevos it wasn't, maybe Liselle, but she didn't really like the idea of disrupting further an already broken family.

No, more than likely Tevos would conclude that it was a blackmail move and prepare herself accordingly to avoid that trap. Which meant Britannia had a small amount of leverage now. Schneizel would probably be pleased.

Still, it made her feel a little dirty at how she would be unintentionally using a friend's weakness as an asset...

But, it was for the Quarians, she reminded herself, steeling away the worry.

"Remember Euphie," she murmured to herself, "you aren't here to preserve the status quo, you're here to overthrow it and create a future for everyone. Sacrifices must be made from time to time."

* * *

**1437 Local Time**

"Next," Corporal Armando-Owen Bailey commanded gruffly, not looking up from his display as he dismissed the Volus he had just dealt with. It was all he could do to resist snapping at his situation.

He had applied to C-Sec last year after the Systems Alliance Navy began a 'revitalization plan' to cleanse its ranks of 'old soldiers'. A lot of good men and women suddenly found themselves discharged in order to make way for fresh faces. All for the public image the military stated, of course, a lot of the military members had Britannian family members, like his wife.

And so, faced with no choice and needing to get a paycheck to support the family, he applied to C-Sec, figuring his background in the Navy would get him in, which it did. Unfortunately, the fact that C-Sec was pretty much a Turian operated organization, what humans did get in got the shoddy jobs that Turians found beneath them. In his case, he was stuck in immigration checking passports.

He didn't even look up as he spoke again, the internal cadence telling him where the next person should be, "Step into the scanner."

That done, he watched his display, frowning when it detected a weapon. Just lovely, one of those idiots.

"Step forward," he spoke, tapping an attention beacon as he looked up at the subject, a silver-haired young man.

"Passport, name, origin point, and purpose of visit."

The young man handed over his passport, as he was doing so he answered Bailey's questions.

"Nicolai Alvin Hubert, Logres, Holy Britannian Empire, the purpose of my visit is for both business and pleasure."

"Do you have a permit and reason for carrying a weapon Mr. Hubert?"

"Yes," the boy replied producing another document and providing it to the C-Sec officer, "I'm a Viscount for the Holy Britannian Empire, this weapon is for the protection of my person and effects."

"Produce your weapon for inspection, then, Viscount," Bailey added the last part sarcastically, "slowly please."

Nodding, the young man reached into his jacket and produced it from an underarm holster, grabbing the weapon and handing it to him, butt first. Bailey took it and looked it over, comparing it to the documentation, frowning deeper, his instincts were telling him something was off, but he couldn't tell what it was. Everything checked out, except-

"Color me curious, but I've never seen this kind of gun before."

"Probably because it's only one of maybe a hundred," the Viscount replied, "it's designed by a gunsmith I cannot really name, she prefers select clientele."

"I see," handing the firearm back, he looked over the papers one more time before approving them.

"A word of warning, Viscount. Expect to get shaken down quite a few times. C-Sec generally frowns upon armed private citizens, especially if the citizen is human."

"I'll keep that in mind, officer. Thanks for the warning."

"Next," Bailey called out, eyes tracking as the Viscount picked up his bag and left before the next in line attracted his attention.

0000000

Nicolai let out a sigh after getting through the immigration and on the shuttle that would take him to the Presidium.

That had been a bit different, he mused quietly, his eyes scanning the shuttle at the variety of occupants, the old habit of scanning for threats automatic for him. Satisfied with the results, he focused on the events so far.

He had to admit the C-Sec officer was efficient and thorough, looking over his documentation and weapon. For a moment he worried the C-Sec would set him aside for an interview. Instead he was sent on his way after a minimum of fuss.

This was incredibly risky behavior, going to the heart of the sub-enemy of Cerberus, but he needed to confirm something. Something that had been niggling at him the more he had looked over the history of both the Protheans and this current Citadel.

"Presidium, please exit to the left," the Citadel's VI, Avina announced, causing the shuttle to empty out with himself following everyone out.

A few hundred meters later, he was to a balcony looking out on the massive Presidium, his blue eyes taking in the sight.

It was definitely a beautiful sight, more awe-inspiring than the images could convey. It was a pity that the Citadel was a trap, but it had to be convincing to be a good one.

Glancing at his chronometer he smiled. He was just in time to see Euphie's presentation to the Council to allow the Quarians to take possession of the Avon System.

0000000

_For such an advanced facility, the elevators are incredibly slow_, Nicolai mused, tuning out the background news announcements, _but then again, there is strategic worth if it takes a damn century to reinforce any point!_

"Now arriving, Citadel Tower. Watch your step."

Taking a deep breath, he waited for the doors to open. Once they did, he stepped out, taking a cursory glance of his surroundings. It was much the same, to his chagrin. But then again, if you wanted to attempt to create a relaxing atmosphere you would go with such a shallow-

**_Welcome._**

Nicolai froze, his eyes widening.

_It couldn't be._

**_Welcome. Come and serve._**

**_Serve the cycle._**

**_Bring peace._**

**_Enforce the cycle._**

**_Bring tranquility to all._**

It was like a barrage of voices were hammering his head all at once, yet spaced just enough to be able to understand exactly what was saying. And through it all, his entire body felt as if every nerve was crawling. And to make it worse, even as he could feel a tremor run through his body, his hands beginning to shake as he paled, he felt as if he had walked into the den of a something older than comprehension that was beginning to become aware his presence.

_Run, I need to go, now_, he thought desperately his eyes darting furtively as he spun around, reaching for the elevator summon button, hands cold and clammy even as he began to sweat, the voices now becoming a cacophony as they began to recognize exactly what he was and what he had within him.

**_ONE OF US!_**

**_SERVE THE CYCLE!_**

**_DESTROY THOSE WHO THREATEN THE CYCLE!_**

**_BRING PEACE!_**

**_SERVE THE CYCLE!_**

**_WE ARE YOUR DESTINY!_**

The door opened up, Nicolai stumbled through a gathering that were exiting the elevator, not even listening to their cries as he hit against the wall of the elevator. Yet even as the doors began closing, the voices changed into a single voice, a voice sounding throughout his mind that seemed to mock him even as his he felt something far older and far worse caress his mind.

**_YOU CANNOT ESCAPE INEVITABILITY. THE TIME OF OUR RETURN IS COMING. YOUR FUTILE STRUGGLE SHALL END LIKE ALL THAT HAVE COME BEFORE YOU._**

And then it was gone, leaving Nicolai with an empty feeling, even as he fought to control his breath. He knew he was having a panic attack, but he couldn't help it, he didn't even know how to describe it, but everything he had ignored simply because it was too far-fetched was laid before him.

It all made sense now. The actions of the Citadel in regards to the extermination of the Rachni, the Genophage, the Quarian Exile, even The Humiliation. Every single action that could serve in the long run of crippling the Citadel from the Reaper threat was laid bare before him.

He couldn't help but beginning to laugh even as he slid down the wall to a sitting position, his left hand unconsciously reaching to the omnitool on his right and tapping a few buttons, causing the elevator to stop. Laughing was all he could do, because it all fit, it was like finding that last puzzle piece that had evaded you for days on end and you finally found it.

It all made sense now, Nicolai thought, his laughing getting louder, almost sounding as if he were cracking, the Citadel wasn't just a trap.

It was THE trap.

* * *

**A/N:**

Apologies for taking such a long time to update in comparison to previous updates as well as shortchange it again with no Suzaku and Jane appearance. We promise that the next chapter will deal with them, but this was a chapter that needed to be done to lay out some of the events over the next few chapters. From the awareness of Cerberus to Nicolai's discovery. The first appearance of Euphie was also something that needed to be done as she'll have a part to play.

It has been decided that we will update as we go instead of taking a hiatus, the loss of impetus would be a bit to ignore. Thought this all allow AlSmash to update some of his own works.

Now, a commentary to the guest who discussed kinetic energy. Actually, when it comes to ammunition, it does matter. It's part of the reason I, AlSmash, also have a conversion kit for my Bushmaster ACR so I can convert it from 5.56mm/.223 cal to a 6.8mm Remington SPC when I want it to hit a bit harder, like when I am hunting. The reason for this is because the 6.8 has a higher stopping power value because it is a balance between the 5.56 (higher range, velocity) and the 7.62 (heavier round, lower range, but better stopping power in terms of how it hits the target). Think of the idea of kinetic value in the realm of an analogy, I hit you with a stick at a certain velocity across the face, it's going to hurt quite a bit, now if I come back with a wooden baseball bat made of the same material and whack you across the face with it at the same velocity as the stick, you're likely not to get up or worse. That's what was the intention of that statement.

Anyways, to those asking, Yes, Knightmare Frames will make an appearance, but not for a good while. But when they show up, I think you will all enjoy it.

Yes, Code Geass tech will start making its appearance. If people were paying close attention, Sakuradite warheads have already been used. The problem is that realistically, Mass Effect technology is light years ahead of Code Geass technology, so finding that medium of introducing Code Geass tech in a way that it works well with the established Mass Effect technology is the issue. But yes, some Code Geass techs will start showing up soon. Especially since if you have read the chapter there is a certain mention of a purple haired pudding loving scientist.

Anyways, that's pretty much it. Hopefully you guys have liked this relatively short (in comparison to previous others) chapter, leave us your thoughts. Until next time.


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